DEFENCE

Sierra Leone

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has concerning the deployment of British troops in Sierra Leone.

Geoff Hoon: Our military training and assistance programme continues to make good progress towards its goal of developing a professional, accountable and effective Sierra Leone army, able to protect the security and integrity of Sierra Leone on its own. I announced in September that, following the completion of the work of British short-term training teams, our military presence would reduce to 360 shore-based personnel by January 2002, remaining at that level until April. Since then, it has been announced that presidential and parliamentary elections in Sierra Leone are to be held on 14 May 2002. I have therefore decided to maintain our presence at the force levels announced in September over the period of the elections. The International Military Advisory and Training Team will continue the military training and assistance task with the Sierra Leone army.

Tankers

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decision his Department has reached with regard to a replacement for the (a) Rover and (b) Leaf class tankers; when these replacements will be ordered; and how many are planned to be ordered.

Lewis Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 28 March 2000, Official Report, column 77W, to the hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford (Mr. Duncan-Smith) and on 3 May 2001, Official Report, column 717W, to the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies).

Harrier

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is planned that the (a) Sea Harrier FA2 and (b) Harrier GR7 will be able to operate from the CVFs; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 November 2001, Official Report, columns 380–81W to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle).

Cruise Missiles

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many cruise missiles have been fired by Britain since 1983 (a) in conflicts and (b) for testing purposes;
	(2)  if he will list the conflicts in which the UK has used cruise missiles since 1983.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 11 December 2001
	UK submarines launched a number of Tomahawk land attack missiles during the Kosovo campaign and also during current operations in Afghanistan.
	I am withholding the precise number of cruise missiles fired in conflicts and for testing purposes in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information which relates to Defence, Security and International Relations.

Trident

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the annual running costs of the Trident submarines; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 5 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the Strategic Defence Review Supporting Essay 5 dated July 1998, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

Joint Strike Fighters

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Joint Strike Fighters the United Kingdom is planning to buy; what the projected cost and final delivery date is; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Our current planning assumption is that 150 Joint Strike Fighters will be purchased to meet our requirement for a Future Joint Combat Aircraft. Final numbers will depend on the choice of variant and on the outcome of work to confirm future UK fast jet requirements. The estimated procurement cost would be up to £10 billion, dependent on numbers of aircraft required, variant selected and how it is to be supported through life. Under current planning assumptions, the last of the 150 aircraft would be delivered by the end of 2024.

Eurofighter

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much British involvement in the design, development and production of the Eurofighter has cost; what plans his Department has to purchase Eurofighters; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence investment in the design, development and production of the Eurofighter programme, to 31 March 2001, totals £5,444 million. The order for the first tranche of aircraft, placed in 1998, includes 55 for the United Kingdom. Orders for the remaining aircraft are expected to be placed during 2003 and 2007. These orders will include 89 and 88 aircraft, respectively, for the United Kingdom, bringing our total purchase to 232 aircraft.

Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the report produced by the chemical defence establishment, Porton Down in 1973, entitled "Wind Speed and Miosis from Nerve Agents";
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the report produced by the chemical defence establishment, Porton Down, in 1971 entitled "Estimation of the concentrations of nerve agent vapour required to produce measured degrees of miosis in rabbit and human eyes".

Lewis Moonie: No. This document is classified Confidential. It contains an assessment of the effectiveness of nerve agent in field situations and the release of this report would assist potential proliferators. I am therefore withholding this information in the interest of national security under category 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what dates the Health and Safety Executive has conducted formal inspections of the chemical and biological defence establishment, Porton Down, since 31 May 2000.

Lewis Moonie: Since May 2000 there have been five occasions when representatives of the Health and Safety Executive have visited Dst1 (formerly DERA) Porton Down. These are as follows:
	
		
			 Date Area visited Issues 
		
		
			 May 2000 Explosives handling area Formal inspection of explosive handling activities 
			 August 2000 Safety cell Introduce new HSE Inspector 
			 October 2000 Biomedical sciences Routine preventative visit 
			 November 2000 Biomedical sciences Routine preventative visit 
			 November 2001 Biomedical sciences Routine visit to discuss high containment facilities

Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer 9 April 2001, Official Report, column 364W, on Porton Down, if former service volunteers invited to visit Porton Down to view the original record books and discuss their experiences with current members of Porton Down staff are refunded for their travel expenses by his Department.

Lewis Moonie: It is not Ministry of Defence policy to do so. However, some travel expenses were refunded when the Porton Down helpline was established in February 1998. Since November 2000, MOD policy has been to not refund volunteers' travel expenses on the ground that visiting Porton Down to view original records is a matter for the individual concerned and adds no further information to that previously communicated in writing.

Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 15 November 2001, Official Report, column 824W, on Porton Down, if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) minutes, (b) agendas and (c) papers of the meetings between his Department's staff and the Medical Research Council on 2 and 3 August to discuss the epidemiological study into volunteers who took part in experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down.

Lewis Moonie: These meetings were not of a kind to require formal documentation of this type. The only formal document relating to either of these meetings is a note of the meeting of 3 August which was included in the pack of papers distributed in advance of the Medical Research council seminar on 9 October to those who had shown an interest in putting forward proposals for research into the health of Porton Down volunteers. I will place a copy of my note in the Library of the House.

Porton Down

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel who took part in experiments at the chemical defence establishment at Porton Down have been given copies of technical reports relating to their own experiments since the establishment of the Porton Down helpline in February 1998.

Lewis Moonie: There is no definitive list of the number of the volunteers who have received copies of technical reports. Volunteers who visit Porton Down are given copies of records that refer to them personally and copies of other documentation, including technical reports, where they add relevant information to that already located in the volunteer record books. This is decided on a case-by-case basis. In addition, copies of reports are included with the letter sent to the volunteer, detailing their attendance, where deemed appropriate.

Third Airport (Paris)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made to the French authorities about the proposed building of a third airport for Paris on the Somme battlefields.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has made no representations to the French Government about any proposals for a third airport for Paris.

Warships

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total cost to the taxpayer in respect of the construction, including the amount paid to the shipyard and the cost of weapons and sensor systems, incurred by his Department of (a) HMS Argyle, (b) HMS Marlborough and (c) HMS Lancaster.

Lewis Moonie: The information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Military Bases

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) Airforce bases (i) whose closure has been announced since 1997 and (ii) where significant amounts of land or buildings have been sold since 1997.

Lewis Moonie: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Military Bases

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has with other Government Departments when considering the (a) closure, (b) partial sale and (c) move of a military base.

Lewis Moonie: While there are normally no formal discussions, as part of the decision making process for the closure, partial sale or move of a military base officials consider, where appropriate, the views of other Government Departments. However, as such decisions are primarily determined by operational requirements, the final decision rests with the Ministry of Defence.
	Officials are fully aware of the impact of such changes on local communities and it is the MOD's policy to initiate an early and close dialogue with the local authorities and the regional government offices concerned. While it is for local authorities to deal with local concerns, officials seek to take local aspirations into account as far as possible in identifying alternative uses.

Sea Wolf

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Sea Wolf systems are to be upgraded as part of the Sea Wolf MLU programme.

Lewis Moonie: We currently plan to upgrade up to 46 systems.

Royal Ordnance Factories

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the Royal Ordnance factory in Chorley will play in defence contracts; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: Royal Ordnance Chorley passed from Government ownership in 1988 and now forms part of Royal Ordnance Defence (ROD), itself a division of BAE Systems. The Chorley site presently provides ROD with munitions sub-component manufacture, assembly and testing facilities. Although the future use and utilisation of any ROD site is a matter for the company, I can confirm that ROD is currently reviewing its overall manufacturing strategy and I understand that the company has recently made an announcement to this effect to its employees.

Shegaird Radar Tests

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the Shegaird radar tests affected low flying in west Somerset; and how many low flying aircraft were caught.

Lewis Moonie: The RAF police use a Skyguard radar system to undertake covert monitoring of military low flying aircraft and to record their heights and speeds. The results of this monitoring show that military aircrew operate in a professional manner. Data from the Skyguard deployment to the Minehead area between 3–7 December are still being evaluated. I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Somalia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what deployment of British military personnel there is in Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: There are no British personnel deployed in Somalia.

Exercise Saif Sareea II

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the operational welfare package for servicemen and women not based at camps South and Sha'ata during Exercise Saif Sareea II.

Adam Ingram: We have completed a First Impressions Report into the conduct of Exercise Saif Sareea II, which noted that there were some difficulties in delivering the Operational Welfare Package (OWP) to isolated detachments and to some units during the manoeuvre phases of the exercise. The report concludes that we should examine the requirement for a more mobile operational welfare capability but that, because there will always be limitations imposed by the essential nature of operations and exercises we should aim to deliver an OWP that can be provided within these constraints.
	Work to address these issues is under way and the conclusions will be incorporated into an evaluation and review of the OWP, which starts in February 2002.

MOD Police

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the Quinquennial Review of the Ministry of Defence Police Agency.

Lewis Moonie: I announced terms of reference for Stage 1 of this review on 26 April 2001, Official Report, columns 307–08W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Regents Park and Kensington North (Ms Buck). The conduct and outcome of the review have not been connected with proposals relating to the MDP's jurisdiction in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill.
	In line with central guidance on Quinquennial Reviews (QQRs), the central question for the review to date has been how far the Ministry of Defence continues to require the services of an in-house civil police force. The clear conclusion from Stage 1 of the review is that the MOD has a strong need for the MDP's services. Following careful analysis of the spectrum of crime risks facing the MOD, it is clear that the MDP provides by far the most cost-effective means of dealing with the most serious threats, of armed attack, public disorder, major theft and financial fraud. The study has clarified that the core role of the MDP is to apply civil police training and constabulary powers to combat these risks.
	The MDP will, however, continue to provide other policing services both within MOD, and as now to external customers on repayment terms. They will also continue for the foreseeable future to provide a source of trained police manpower to deploy overseas, where required, in support of foreign policy objectives, as currently in Kosovo.
	Although the new articulation of the MDP's core role focuses on specific categories of crime, this does not in any sense preclude the involvement of its officers in dealing with other types of offences on the Defence Estate, where it makes sense for them to do so.
	We have also concluded that the MDP should remain an Agency within the MOD, in view of the benefits of improved management and increased visibility and accountability which this has already delivered. Important work continues in Stage 2 of the QQR, including an examination of the role of the MDP in providing policing support to MOD married quarters, the number and day-to-day employment of officers held in reserve to deal with unforeseen contingencies, and the operation of the Ministry of Defence Police Committee.
	The QQR has underlined very clearly the vital importance of the MDP in helping to counter the risks to MOD of public disorder and armed attack. Sadly, the need for both these outputs has been highlighted recently by increased protest activity at certain Defence sites, and of course by the events of 11 September. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the officers of the force, and civilians who support them, for the crucial work they are doing during these challenging and dangerous times.
	I am placing a copy of the Stage 1 report in the Library of the House.

Medical Downgrading

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what he attributes the increase in servicemen medically downgraded between August 2000 and November 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: I assume that the figures to which the hon. Member refers are those given in my recent reply to him on 22 November 2001, Official Report, columns 369–70, and in a letter in response to a question from the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Mr. Campbell) in September 2000, Official Report, column 749W, dated 27 July 2000. The key figures are as follows:
	
		
			  RN/RM Army RAF 
		
		
			 1 August 2000 2,510 9,144 3,796 
			 1 August 2001 — 9,718 3,871 
			 20 November 2001 3,678 — — 
		
	
	Further work has now revealed that the November 2001 figure inadvertently included a group of some 850–900 personnel who do not fall within the 'medically downgraded' definition.
	Regrettably it is not possible, from data currently held centrally, to provide an analysis of the causes of the increases. Improving data and analysis in this area is a high priority, on which action is already in hand.

Far East Prisoners of War

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 861W, on prisoners of war in the Far East, if he will state the assumptions on which budgetary provision was made for his ex-gratia payment scheme for former British civilian internees of the Japanese;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library the (a) working assumptions and (b) calculations that his Department made regarding the number of potential claimants in respect of the ex-gratia scheme for former civilian internees of the Japanese.

Lewis Moonie: When the scheme was announced on 7 November 2000, Official Report, columns 159–70W, I advised the House that it was estimated that up to 16,700 people might be eligible for the ex-gratia payment for former Far East prisoners. This figure was the best estimate available and was based on an assessment of the numbers of those who had been held captive in each of the groups covered by the scheme and of the likely number of surviving members of those groups or surviving spouses where the former prisoner had subsequently died. The data were gathered from official records and from the associations representing former Far East prisoners. The estimate made for the number of surviving civilian internees and surviving spouses of deceased internees was 3,700 based on data provided by the Association of British Civilian Internees—Far East Region.
	I am withholding the further detail requested under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Aldermaston

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will establish an inquiry into the suspension of private contractors working at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, following a police investigation and drug-testing among those working on the decommissioning of nuclear warheads.

Lewis Moonie: Safety at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), Aldermaston is paramount, and we are confident that it has not been compromised by the incident to which my hon. Friend refers. The decommissioning activities in this case related not to nuclear weapons, but to a redundant building. None the less, work was halted pending the outcome of a Ministry of Defence police investigation into allegations relating to drugs. This is now complete. No drugs were found during searches and no evidence emerged to support either further investigation or legal proceedings. AWE plc expect to resume the decommissioning shortly.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees of (a) her Department and (b) agencies sponsored by her Department work in (i) London, (ii) areas benefiting from EU Objective 1 status, (iii) areas with Objective 2 status and (iv) other areas.

Helen Liddell: holding answer 19 November 2001
	My Department employs 30 staff in London, 32 staff in an EU Objective 2 status area and 52 in other areas. No staff work in an EU Objective 1 area.

Public Bodies

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  if she will list those public bodies which are the responsibility of her Department and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000;
	(2)  if she will list those public bodies to which her Department appoints members and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000.

Helen Liddell: Public Bodies 2000 sets out information on non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), certain public corporations (including nationalised industries) and NHS bodies. There are four types of NDPB: executive NDPBs; advisory NDPBs; tribunal NDPBs; and boards of visitors to penal establishments. The next edition will be published around the end of the year. Information about task forces, annual reports and ad hoc advisory groups is set out in an annual report, published by the Cabinet Office. Copies of Public Bodies 2000 are in the Library of the House and this publication may be accessed via Cabinet Office's website (http://www.official-documents.co.uk/document/caboff/ pb00/pb00.htm). Copies of the annual report on task forces and similar bodies have also been placed in the Library of the House and the annual report is being made available on Cabinet Office's website.
	The only public body for which my Department has responsibility is the Boundary Commission for Scotland, details of which are in Public Bodies 2000.

Abortion

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans she has to propose legislation to permit the Scottish Parliament to amend the abortion law in Scotland.

George Foulkes: None.

Scottish Parliament

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to her answer of 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 91, to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Anniesland (John Robertson), when she plans to launch her consultation exercise on the size of the Scottish Parliament.

Helen Liddell: I have today issued the document "The size of the Scottish Parliament—a consultation". Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are being sent to all MPs representing Scottish constituencies and Members of the Scottish Parliament. Views are sought on the case for retaining or ending the linking of Westminster and Holyrood constituency boundaries as provided in the Scotland Act 1998, in the light of the experience now gained of the Scottish Parliament. I am inviting responses by 29 March 2002.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what his estimate is of the money owed to parents by absentee parents in the City of Durham;
	(2)  what his estimate is of how many CSA assessments will be being processed at the end of this financial year;
	(3)  how many cases in the Durham area have been dealt with by the CSA since it was established.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 12 December 2001
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, promised a substantive reply by me.
	You asked three questions; our estimate of the money owed to parents with care by non resident parents in the City of Durham, our estimate of how many CSA assessments will be processed at the end of this financial year and how many cases in the Durham area have been dealt with by the CSA since it was established.
	I am sorry but we don't collect information in a way that will permit me to make a sensible estimate of the amount of maintenance that is owed to parents with care by non-resident parents in the Durham area. I can, however, provide answers to your other questions.
	I estimate that around 16,500 cases in the Durham area have been dealt with by the CSA since November 1995. This is drawn from a sampling exercise which only started in November 1995 so my figures cannot precede that date.
	During the current financial year the Agency is expecting to process 380,000 assessments arising from new maintenance applications and 715,111 assessments arising from changes to existing maintenance arrangements.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out an action plan to address the concerns expressed by the Comptroller and Auditor General in qualifying the 2000–01 accounts of the Child Support Agency.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Mark Todd, dated 12 December 2001
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, promised a substantive reply by me.
	I take the concerns that the Comptroller and Auditor General have expressed very seriously and have created an action plan which has two key components:
	An enhanced focus on corporate governance to ensure that basic checks are carried out, that risk management processes are fully embedded and that lessons learned from audit reports are implemented.
	The implementation of the Child Support Reforms, which should obviate many mistakes which have led to the qualifications having previously been made.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the cost in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01 of compensation payments for maladministration by the CSA.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John Bercow, dated 17 December 2001
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from me.
	You asked for a statement on the cost in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–2001 of compensation payments for maladministration by the CSA.
	The amount of compensation paid by the Agency for maladministration was:
	£3,075,000 for the financial year 1999–2000
	£3,053,000 for the financial year 2000–2001
	Deferred debt is also classed as a compensatory payment because we compensate the parent with care for the amount of deferred debt that we do not collect from the non-resident parent. The amounts that were paid were:
	£2,024,000 for the financial year 1999–2000
	£3,693,000 for the financial year 2000–2001
	Advance payments are another form of compensation. They are lump sum payments of arrears paid to a parent with care when the Agency has delayed actioning a case. The arrears are however recovered from the non-resident parent over a period of time. The following amounts have been paid:
	£862,000 for the financial year 1999–2000
	£1,153,000 for the financial year 2000–2001
	In 1999/2000, 2.58% of the total Agency budget was paid in compensation for maladministration and in 2000/2001 3.46% was paid. In both years the amount of compensation for maladministration paid was lower than the amount allocated towards these payments.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the performance target was for the CSA to reduce its outstanding work by 31 March; and if it was achieved.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John Bercow, dated 12 December 2001
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from me.
	You asked what the performance target was for the CSA to reduce its outstanding work by 31st March; and if it was achieved.
	The Performance targets were published in the Annual Report and Accounts 2000/2001 and are set out in the attached annex. During the year, these targets were set aside in order to prioritise those elements of work which best supported successful implementation of the Child Support Reforms.
	I hope this is helpful.
	
		Targets for reduction of outstanding work for year 2000–01 -- Weeks
		
			 Outstanding work Target Performance 
		
		
			 Pre-maintenance assessment 18 30.5 
			 Revisions, supersessions and case checks 6.2 10.8 
			 Account advice 4 5 
			 Interim maintenance assessment 49 276.0 
			 Account maintenance 1.4 1.5 
			 Debt management 12 20.1 
			 Enforcement 30 46.7

Child Support Agency

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the CSA met its performance target in 2000–01 for the accuracy of the cash value of all assessments.

Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John Bercow, dated 12 December 2001
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from me.
	You asked if the CSA met its performance target in 2000–01 for the accuracy of the cash value of all assessments.
	Our target measures the accuracy of our assessments to the nearest penny and requires us to revisit the whole of the current assessment including those elements which may have been in place for some considerable time. The measure therefore reflects historical mistakes rather than current performance. On that measure we achieved 67.4 per cent. accuracy against a target of 78 per cent. However if we look solely at the most recent action accuracy was 78.5 per cent.
	In the current year we have continued to improve that latter figure and in October we achieved 82.4 per cent. accuracy.
	I hope this is helpful.

Ring-fenced Funds

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funds allocated by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies are ring-fenced for specific purposes; and if he will list the allocations of funds involved.

Nick Brown: In the 2000 Spending Review, and in subsequent discussions with HM Treasury, it was agreed that the following expenditure areas should be ring-fenced in respect of the current financial year:
	
		
			   £ million 
		
		
			 Welfare Modernisation Fund 404 
			 Employment Opportunities Fund 1,055 
			 European Social Fund 608 
			 European Regional Development Fund 27 
			 Invest to Save 24 
		
	
	With the formation of the Department for Work and Pensions the Chief Secretary to the Treasury decided to review the EOF arrangements, mainly on the grounds that as the overwhelming majority of the fund fell within DWP it presented the perfect opportunity to simplify arrangements. The EOF has now been transferred into the Department's DEL and the unallocated element transferred into a new Employment Development Fund, within the DWP's DEL.

Independent Living Fund

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the report of the Quinquennial Review of the Independent Living Fund will be published.

Maria Eagle: My right hon. Friend has received the report of the Quinquennial Review of the Independent Living Fund and I am pleased to announce that we are accepting all the recommendations made. In addition to the removal of the earnings rule and the increased capital limit announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 28 November, the report contains a number of other recommendations which we believe represent a significant improvement in ILF provision for severely disabled people. Along with the revised earnings and capital rules, the other recommended changes will be introduced in April 2002. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Criminal Justice Review

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Government intend to publish a Bill to implement the recommendations of the report of the Criminal Justice Review of Northern Ireland, published in March 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: A Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill to implement most of the recommendations of the Criminal Justice Review Group in its report, Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland, is receiving its First Reading today and will be published tomorrow.

Paramilitary Attacks (Hospital Treatment)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list (a) the number of patients treated at hospitals in Northern Ireland as a result of paramilitary attacks, broken down by type of injuries and (b) the number and type of operations carried out on patients whose injuries have been received as a result of paramilitary attacks in each of the past five years, indicating the cost of treating such patients.

John Reid: Responsibility for this matter has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

WALES

Child Poverty

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the level of child poverty in (a) Wales and (b) the United Kingdom.

Paul Murphy: Child poverty and social exclusion are complex and multi-dimensional concepts, affecting many aspects of children's livesincluding their living standards, health, housing, the quality of the environment, and opportunities to learn. The Government are committed to ending child poverty within 20 years. The Government's strategy for tackling child poverty and social exclusion is set out in the annual Opportunity for all reports. The third Opportunity for all report (Cm 5260) presents the latest information on the indicators used to monitor progress against this strategy.
	The National Assembly is seeking to complement UK measures with a range of policies and programmes designed to meet the specific circumstances and priorities of Wales.

Health Consultation Document

Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish an analysis of the responses to the consultation document, Improving Health in WalesStructural Change in the NHS in Wales.

Don Touhig: No. That is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales. I understand that the assembly has prepared a summary of responses and deposited a copy in the Library of the House.

Government of Wales Act

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales in respect of section 1 Part 1(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998.

Paul Murphy: None.

Public Bodies

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  if he will list those public bodies which are the responsibility of his Department and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000;
	(2)  if he will list those public bodies to which his Department appoints members and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000.

Paul Murphy: Public Bodies 2000 sets out information on non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), certain public corporations (including nationalised industries) and NHS bodies. There are four types of NDPBexecutive NDPBs, advisory NDPBs, tribunal NDPBs, and boards of visitors to penal establishments. The next edition will be published around the end of the year. Information about task forces, annual reports and ad hoc advisory groups is set out in an annual report, published by Cabinet Office. Copies of Public Bodies 2000 are in the Library of the House. It can also be accessed via the Cabinet Office website (http://www.official-documents.co.uk/ document/caboff/pb00/pb00.htm). Copies of the annual report on task forces and similar bodies have also been placed in the Library of the House and it is being made available on the Cabinet Office website.
	I make appointments to the following public bodies which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000:
	Reference Committee Panels (Wales)
	Council of St. David's University College, Lampeter
	Court of Cranfield University
	Court of University of Wales, Bangor
	Court of University of Wales, Swansea.
	My Department does not have sponsorship responsibility for any public bodies.

Public Bodies

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many appointments he has made to public bodies since 7 June; and how many are in his gift.

Paul Murphy: Information about numbers of ministerial appointments to public bodies is included in the Cabinet Office's annual report, Public Bodies. Copies are placed in the Library of the House and the report is published on the Cabinet Office website. The next edition, which will include numbers of appointments at 31 March 2001, will be published around the end of the year.
	While there is no central record of appointments falling to me, the total is thought to be around 20. I have made no such appointments since 7 June.

Objective 1 Funding

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of whether the distribution of grants is proceeding at a sufficient rate to ensure that all objective 1 money allocated to west Wales and Valleys will stay in Wales and will not have to be returned to the EU structural fund under the conditions of the mid-term target review in 2003.

Paul Murphy: I meet the Assembly Finance Ministers regularly and discuss progress on the objective 1 programme. I am told there is no question of money having to be returned to the European Commission. The Assembly expects to exceed the target of drawing down 176 million from the Commission by the first decommitment date of 31 December 2002.
	In addition, the Assembly has recently put in place new monitoring procedures to ensure that projects' sponsors claim their grant as quickly as possible after receiving approval. This will speed up the rate of programme spend.

Objective 1 Funding

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary on which projects in the Cynon Valley have been funded by west Wales and Valleys objective 1 funding since October 2000.
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary on the amount of EU objective 1 budget for west Wales and the Valleys that has been (a) committed and (b) spent on projects in the Cynon Valley since October 2000.

Paul Murphy: The administration of structural fund programmes in Wales and individual project approvals under those programmes are matters for the National Assembly for Wales and its executive agency, the Welsh European Funding Office.

Objective 1 Funding

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary as to whether sufficient match funding can be allocated to enable the full use of objective 1 funding to west Wales and the Valleys over the project period 2000 to 2006.

Paul Murphy: It is a condition of structural fund programmes that grant recipients meet a proportion of their project costs, in addition to the grant provided by the European Commission. This match funding does not all come from the Assembly budget but can be found from a wide range of different sources, for example, local authorities, voluntary organisations, lottery funding, colleges and training organisations and other public and private sector bodies.
	Nevertheless, the Government have allocated an additional 1.4 billion to the Assembly budget over the three year spending review period from 200104 to ensure that the Assembly has sufficient funds to provide match funding for the portion of objective 1 projects which require Assembly support. It is for the Assembly to decide how this additional funding is allocated among its programmes, but the First Minister has assured me on numerous occasions that no other Assembly budget has suffered to provide match funding for the objective 1 programme. The Assembly's budget for 200203 makes specific provision for match funding across a number of policy areas.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to support non-Burman ethnic groups in Burma.

Clare Short: British and European Community (EC) assistance in Burma is provided for a wide variety of humanitarian needs including the needs of refugees. DFID also provides funding for HIV/AIDS interventions. We are currently increasing our funding through selected INGOs and UN agencies to assist the most needy in Burma.
	The total UK humanitarian assistance provided to Burma in 200001 was 0.8 million. We have committed up to 2 million for humanitarian purposes for 200102. This includes funding for the needs of refugees/returnees and the war-affected, including ethnic minorities in the Thailand border areas. Last year we spent 0.2 million on HIV/AIDS; our commitment for this financial year is 1.6 million.
	Assistance provided to Burma through ECHO for the calendar year 2000 was euro 2 million or approximately 1.3 million (the same amount has been allocated for 2001). Assistance is delivered through European NGOs and focuses on health including HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation. Some assistance is provided to Burmese refugees in Thailand and for the protection of detainees in prison. The UK EC attribution for 2001 is 19 per cent.

Afghanistan

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the number of Afghan children in danger of dying this winter; and what steps she has taken to provide assistance.

Clare Short: Afghanistan has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the world with one in four children dying before the age of five. Every effort is being made to minimise the suffering of all vulnerable Afghans, including children. Humanitarian agencies, particularly the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, continue to make good progress in transporting essential relief supplies to Afghanistan. However, some areas of Afghanistan are proving difficult to access because of continuing insecurity.
	My Department has so far allocated 7 million to UNICEF and other aid agencies to support their activities in the region, which are specifically focused on children.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the security situation in Afghanistan and its effect on the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Clare Short: United Nations agencies, particularly the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, the Red Cross movement and NGOs continue to make good progress in transporting essential relief supplies into Afghanistan. Over the past month, WFP has delivered over 68,000 tonnes of food, exceeding its monthly target. International staff of humanitarian agencies have now returned to some areas of the country and are working with national staff to reach those in need of assistance. However, progress is heavily dependent on improved security. Some areas of Afghanistan are still proving difficult to access because of continuing insecurity.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the (a) protection and (b) assistance her Department is providing for Afghan refugees.

Clare Short: My Department is in regular contact with UNHCR at both field and headquarters level to try to ensure that resources are used effectively for the provision of assistance to Afghan refugees and the protection of their rights. We continue to do all we can to ensure that Afghan refugees are properly cared for and give neighbouring countries the necessary support to cope with the burden of refugees, for whom they have provided over a long period.
	We have committed 3 million to UNHCR's operations for refugees in response to the current crisis. This has included technical personnel, material and financial support. At the request of UNHCR, my Department has provided three relief flights to Iran and Pakistan transporting tents, shelter material and communications equipment. We have also provided a specialist site planner to UNHCR in Pakistan to assist with the setting up of new refugee campsites. In addition we are supporting a number of NGOs assisting refugees, including Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, and Save the Children.
	We have also provided 11 million to support communities in Pakistan most affected by influxes of refugees.

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the outcome of the Reconstruction Afghanistan Conference in Islamabad; and if she will make a statement on the future of Afghanistan.

Clare Short: The recent 'Conference on Preparing for Afghanistan's Reconstruction' was attended by over 350 people including a large number of Afghans, as well as officials from my Department.
	The conference highlighted the need for security and stability to underpin reconstruction. We are fully committed to supporting Ambassador Brahimi and the United Nations system in their central role to help the people of Afghanistan and the new Interim Authority. A copy of our updated Emergency Plan to Initiate Recovery has been placed in the House Library. Further details of the conference can be found at www.reliefweb.int.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people were employed in her Department in each of the last four years.

Clare Short: The numbers of staff employed by DFID in each of the last four years were as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 199798 1,007 
			 199899 1,095 
			 19992000 1,280 
			 200001 1,313 
		
	
	These figures do not include staff employed on contract terms in the UK and overseas.

Child Soldiers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries that allow child soldiers to be used in conflict within their countries receive financial assistance from the UK for aid projects.

Clare Short: It is difficult to say which countries allow the use of soldiers. Where non-state actors use children in armed conflict, this is usually in opposition to the Government of that country. Other countries may state that they do not use children, yet there are reports of children being used.
	The UK provides development assistance to countries that are committed to poverty reduction and who will use our assistance effectively. The protection of children caught up in armed conflict is an important aspect of our development assistance programmes, which can include, among other things, working with Governments to improve their human rights record. DFID is contributing, over a three-year period, 3 million to UNICEF to build its capacity to implement programmes which will prevent children becoming involved in, or otherwise being affected by, conflict, and 3 million to the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Children to support his work in reducing the impact of conflict on children, including the involvement of children in armed conflict. The work of these two institutions spans a wide range of countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.
	We also encourage the ratification of important international instruments such as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child covering the involvement of children in armed conflict.

Street Children

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the countries with which her Department works on the issue of street children.

Clare Short: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 4 July 2001, Official Report, column 214W.

Children (Welfare and Protection)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions her Department has had with the Council of Europe to develop joint policies for the welfare and protection of children.

Clare Short: My Department has not had any recent discussions with the Council of Europe on child protection.

Sri Lanka

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance has been given by her Department to Sri Lanka in each of the last two years; for what projects; and where in Sri Lanka they were.

Clare Short: Full details of DFID's programme are contained in the table.
	DFID expenditure in Sri Lanka 19992000 and 200001
	Total Bilateral Aid:
	19992000: 7,827 million
	200001: 7,282 million
	DFID has financed projects targeting primary education, improving the livelihoods of those people affected by the conflict, mother and child health, promoting social cohesion and reconciliation, poverty reduction, capacity building of community based organisations, child soldiers, micro enterprise, mental illness and promoting human rights. Activities of these projects have been undertaken in Vavuniya, Puttalum, Horowpahana, Mannar, Colombo, Mahaweli, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Kilinochi, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Pudukudyirrapu, Meerakerny, Okewala, Villachiciya and country wide.
	
		
			 Projects/description Start date End date Region 
		
		
			  Primary Education Planning Project 
			 To strengthen capacity of the national and provincial authorities to plan, manage, monitor and evaluate primary education programmes within an agreed policy framework October 1996 March 2001 Country wide 
			   
			  Primary English Language Project 
			 To improve the quality of teaching of basic English Language skills in Sri Lankan primary schools April 1996 August 2002 Country wide 
			   
			  Primary Mathematics Project 
			 To improve the quality of teaching and learning of mathematics in primary schools in Sri Lanka March 1998 March 2003 Country wide 
			   
			  Education Co-ordination Project 
			 To ensure that DFID funding TC projects in the education sector in Sri Lanka are well co-ordinated with those funded by the World bank and other donors March 1997 August 2003 Country wide 
			   
			  Relief and Reconciliation ProgrammeSCF/Oxfam 
			 To help meet the basic survival and emerging rehabilitation needs of communities affected by the civil conflict April 1997 March 2001 Refugee camps 
			   
			  Oxfam Support to Country Programme 
			 To build on Oxfam's emerging competencies in conflict analysis and grass roots work to facilitate the practical application of tools for transforming community dynamics. To enable people affected by poverty and conflict are better able to cope with, challenge and overcome the barriers sustaining their condition April 2001 March 2002 Country wide 
			   
			  SCF Support to Country Programme 
			 To ensure that the voices of marginalised and vulnerable children are heard and acted upon, in policy and practise, for the best interest of these children, in education, social protection, inclusion and emergencies April 2001 March 2002 Country wide 
			   
			  Mother and Child Reproductive Health Project for Displaced Persons 
			 Provision of three static clinics which also provide mobile health services to the displaced population October 1995 December 2003 Vavuniya, Puttalum, Horowpathana 
			   
			  Mother and Child Reproductive Health Care in Mannar 
			 Increase access to and utilisation of reproductive health services (in co-ordination with Government services among the displaced population and host community in Mannar) September 1998 June 2003 Mannar 
			   
			  Strengthening Prospects for Peace in Sri Lanka 
			 To enhance the prospects for a sustainable negotiated settlement by strengthening the capacity of senior cross party parliamentarians and other significant actors to contribute to the peace process August 2000 August 2003 Colombo 
			   
			  International Humanitarian LawA Peace Building Measure in Sri Lanka 
			 To establish and support a respected group from within the international Buddhist community who will engage with senior Buddhist Clergy in Sri Lanka in International Humanitarian Law, trust-building, de-escalation and wider peace processes November 2000 October 2001 Colombo 
			  Environmental Management and Sustained Development in the Upper Mahaweli Catchment Area 
			 To improve the operational capacity of the EFCD so that it more effectively serves the needs of its customers who are the major users of the land in the Upper Mahaweli Catchment Area December 1995 September 2001 Mahaweli 
			   
			  Urban Poverty Reduction in Colombo Municipality 
			 To reduce poverty in the city of Colombo by developing a participatory and sustainable institutional framework within the municipal structure that is close to the poor and where the community can be effectively organised for livelihood and environmental improvement June 2000 October 2003 Colombo 
			   
			  Greater Colombo Sewerage Project 
			 To provide background information relating to technical and policy issues required to enable a major World bank project to proceed August 1997 February 2000 Colombo 
			   
			  Jaffna Power Rehabilitation 
			 To restore power to the Jaffna area in a sustained manner June 1996 November 2000 Jaffna 
			   
			  ICRC 
			 Ongoing humanitarian assistance and implementation of the ICRC mandate January 1998 December 2001 Country wide 
			   
			  UNICEF Programme of Special Assistance for Children and Women Affected by Conflict 
			 Promote the civil empowerment and participation among families and communities to build capacities for coping with the effects of the conflict and continue to strengthen child survival, protection and development to serve as a platform for reconciliation and conflict resolution January 1998 June 2002 Refugee camps 
			   
			  Capacity Building on Community Based Organisations in Jaffna 
			 To strengthen 20 CBOs to enable them to provide sustainable financial services in a post conflict situation July 2000 June 2002  
			   
			  Light Engineering in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh 
			 To learn through action research about the cost effectiveness of the different approaches to increasing technological capability and capacity within the particular socioeconomic environments of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka April 1998 March 2001 Kurunegala, Gampaha 
			   
			  Sri Lanka: Save The Children From Violence Campaign 
			 To increase awareness at all levels of Sri Lankan society that armed conflict has an unacceptable impact on all Sri Lankan children November 1999 March 2000 Country wide 
			   
			  UNHCR Displaced Persons 
			 Facilitate Internally Displaced People to their place of origin or their resettlement in other designated locations in Sri Lanka February 1998 December 2001 Kilinochi, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Jaffna 
			   
			  Vulnerable Groups in Conflict Areas (VOICE) 
			 To increase the opportunities for all sectors of the conflict affected population to represent their needs and rights to the authorities December 2000 March 2004 North and East 
			   
			  Micro Enterprise 
			 To increase the number and profitability of small scale food processing businesses in Sri Lanka and thereby stimulate rural employment, income levels, self sufficiency and entrepreneurial activities March 2000 March 2004 Pudukudyirrapu, Meerakerny, Mangalagama, Okewela, Villachciya 
			   
			  Establishment of Continuum of Care for the Mentally Ill 
			 To establish a residential rehabilitation institution/therapeutic community to prepare those who are recovering from mental illness for independent living in the community April 1999 March 2002 Colombo 
		
	
	DFID's bilateral programme in Sri Lanka is increasingly focused on the relationship between poverty and conflict. The objectives of the programme are to: improve livelihood security of the poor in conflict areas; explore processes for intercommunual reconciliation; and improve the quality of education, particularly at primary level.

Land Mines

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department is giving to countries in the clearance of anti-personnel land mines; and if she will list the countries concerned.

Clare Short: DFID's humanitarian mine action strategy is directed towards widening support for the anti-personnel land mines ban and helping developing countries to develop their own capacity to meet their Ottawa Convention obligations; supporting mines awareness and clearance programmes including, in particular, encouraging practical innovation to enhance safety and efficiency in operations; and strengthening international systems for co-ordination.
	DFID has allocated 10 million in the current financial year on humanitarian mine action. Additional resources are available for unforeseen emergency responses such as Afghanistan, for which we have committed a further 2 million for mine action. DFID funding is channelled increasingly towards international organisations (core funding as well as country-specific programmes). Additionally we fund projects bilaterally through NGOs and to a limited extent commercial demining organisations. The profile of expenditure in 200102 is expected to be:
	
		
			 Country/organisation Amount ( million) 
		
		
			 Core funding  
			 United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) 1.0 
			 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 0.6 
			 Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) 1.0 
			 International Testing and Evaluation Programme (ITEP) 0.4 
			   
			 Consultancy/advice 0.2 
			 Mine Action Research 0.25 
			   
			 Kosovo, Cambodia, Georgia  
			 HALO Trust 0.8 
			   
			 N. Iraq, Cambodia, Laos  
			 Mines Action Group (MAG) 2.0 
			   
			 Bosnia  
			 International Trust Fund 0.5 
			   
			 Cambodia, Laos  
			 UNDP 1.0 
			   
			 Croatia  
			 International Trust Fund 0.125 
			   
			 Kosovo  
			 Bilateral via NGO and commercial demining organisations 2.0 
			   
			 Afghanistan, Ethiopia/Eritrea  
			 UNMAS 2.0 
			   
			 Nicaragua  
			 Organisation of American States 0.2 
			  
			 Total (1)12.0 
		
	
	(1) Rounded

HIV/AIDS

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial aid and advice her Department gives to countries to counter the spread of HIV/AIDS; and if she will list (a) the countries and (b) the financial help being allocated.

Clare Short: My Department supports comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, control and mitigation programmes. We continue to give greatest priority to prevention, but we also place emphasis on reducing the personal, social and economic impact of illness and death caused by the disease. We seek to support the development, strengthening and implementation of national strategies to combat HIV/AIDS and to provide assistance in the framework of such strategies.
	In 200001, my Department spent over 120 million on HIV/AIDS-related bilateral programmes in many countries, including:
	Bangladesh
	Bolivia
	Brazil
	Burma
	Cambodia
	China
	Cuba
	Ecuador
	Ethiopia
	Ghana
	Haiti
	Honduras
	India
	Kazakhstan
	Kenya
	Mali
	Malawi
	Mongolia
	Montserrat
	Mozambique
	Nepal
	Nicaragua
	Nigeria
	Pakistan
	Peru
	Russian Federation
	Rwanda
	Senegal
	Serbia and Montenegro
	Sierra Leone
	Republic of South Africa
	Sri Lanka
	Sudan
	Swaziland
	Tanzania
	Togo
	Uganda
	Ukraine
	West Bank and Gaza
	Zambia
	Zimbabwe.
	We also made significant contributions in 200001 to support the HIV/AIDS programmes of a number of multilateral organisations, including the EC, UNAIDS and the United Nations Population Fund.

TREASURY

Mr. Graham Mills

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times Mr. Graham Mills, a professional clay pigeon competitor has (a) been stopped by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and (b) had his house raided by Customs and Excise.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 27 November 2001
	It would be inappropriate to disclose information about enforcement or investigation matters as provided in Exemption 4 (Law enforcement and legal proceedings) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Comprehensive Spending Review

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out spending plans for the NHS beyond 200506 in the 2002 Comprehensive Spending Review; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: holding answer 6 December 2001
	Arrangements for the 2002 Spending Review are set out in Chapter 6 of the pre-Budget report.

Income Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the yield from the upper rate of income tax for each of the years (a) 19992000, (b) 200001, (c) 200102, (d) 200203, (e) 200304, (f) 200405 and (g) 200506; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 13 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to Inland Revenue Statistics, table 3.4, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Income Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he plans to take in order to avoid avoidance of income tax liabilities by individuals who pay tax at the upper income tax rate of 40 per cent. by use of capital gains tax; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue will continue to apply existing legislation which ensures that income is charged to income tax.
	In addition, we will keep the position under close review and will not hesitate to take action to protect the income tax yield if new tax avoidance schemes for turning income into capital are introduced.

Climate Change Levy

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to allow the maturation, bottling and packaging of Scotch whisky to qualify for the climate change levy rebate scheme.

Paul Boateng: Eligible sectors are those covered by Parts A1 and A2 of Schedule 1 to the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Regulations. These sectors have a regulatory requirement to use energy efficiently, unlike other sectors. There are no current plans to change this definition.

Holding and Movements Directive

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to seek an amendment to the Holding and Movements Directive to permit spirits producers a defence of due diligence when consignments are lost.

Paul Boateng: The Scottish Affairs Committee, in its report published in November 2001, recommended that the Government look at a defence of due diligence when excise consignments are lost. The Government are considering their response to this report and will reply in due course.

Employee Share Schemes

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the capital gains taper relief announced in the pre-Budget report will operate in relation to employee share schemes.

Dawn Primarolo: Where there is a chargeable gain on the disposal of shares acquired through an employee share scheme, taper relief is available for the qualifying holding period.
	This period usually starts when the shares are acquired. For shares acquired under options granted under Enterprise Management Incentives, it starts with the date of grant. For shares acquired under the Share Incentive Plan, it starts when the shares leave the plan.
	The business assets rate of taper relief is available to employees of trading companies who dispose of shares in their companies and to employees of non-trading companies who do not have a material interest in the company. Such employees will be able to benefit from the improvements to the taper which were announced in the pre-Budget report.

Tax

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he has taken in response to the 1998 IMF Article IV, Consultation Concluding Statement, regarding tax expenditures; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the costs of the main tax reliefs in 200001 and 200102 are published twice a year: in the Budget and, at the time of the pre-Budget report, in the Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs. Both documents are available in the Library of the House.

Tax

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the 2001 IMF Article IV consultation, Concluding Statement, regarding broadening the tax base; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keep all taxes under review and any changes will be made as part of the normal Budget process.

Inheritance Tax

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reform inheritance tax.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keep all taxes under review and any changes will be made as part of the normal Budget process.

Health Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the expected cost to public funds is of raising United Kingdom expenditure on health to the EU average by 200506.

Andrew Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 329W, in response to his previous question on health expenditure.

Economic Stability Document

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of printing, publishing and distributing the HM Treasury publication, Reforming Britain's Economic and Financial Policy: Towards Greater Economic Stability; how many copies of this publication are to be produced; what sales proceeds are anticipated; what the net estimated cost is; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: Reforming Britain's Economic and Financial Policy has been published commercially by Palgrave, the academic publishing division of Macmillan. Publication was on the basis that there would be no net cost to the Treasury.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of each tax credit for each of the years 200102 to 200506; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The projected costs of all tax credits, and the elements attributable to the RD tax credit and the tax credit for clearing contaminated land, are shown in Table B11 of the pre-Budget report. Figures for working families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit are shown in Table B15.
	The projected costs of the children's tax credit are shown in Tables A.11 and A2.1 of the Financial Statement and Budget report issued in March 2001.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) two parent families and (b) lone parents (i) claimed and (ii) were eligible for child care tax credit in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of families receiving the child care tax credit within working families' tax credit (WFTC) are shown in the WFTC Quarterly Enquiries, copies of which are in the Library.
	No estimate is available of the number eligible for the child care tax credit.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households ceased to claim WFTC during 200001 due to an increase in income.

Dawn Primarolo: The reasons for families not renewing working families' tax credit awards are not known.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recipients of (a) the WFTC and (b) DPTC worked (i) 30 hours and over and (ii) 16 hours and over in (A) 19992000 and (B) 200001.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the number of hours per week worked by the main earners in families receiving working families' tax credit are shown in Table 6.2 of the WFTC Quarterly Enquiries, copies of which are in the Library.
	The total number of recipients of the disabled person's tax credit are shown in the DPTC Quarterly Enquiries, copies of which are in the Library. All recipients worked for at least 16 hours per week. The proportion working for at least 30 hours per week was 42 per cent. in 19992000 (including disability working allowance awards still current) and 46 per cent. in 200001.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost will be of replacing the national income from savings and investment with actual income earned in the calculation of tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: Entitlement to the new tax credits proposed by the Tax Credits Bill will be governed by income measured over a tax year, rather than, as with existing tax credits, by the income of a much shorter period. The new tax credits will also be more flexible and responsive to change. There is therefore no direct comparison between the way in which the existing and the new credits treat income derived from capital. The detailed definition of the income to be taken into account for the purposes of the new tax credits will be set out in regulations under clause 7(8) of the Bill which will be laid before Parliament in due course.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment of the cost of child care he has used to determine the rate of the child care tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: The current limits for eligible child care costs in the child care tax credit accord with available evidence on the costs of child care across the United Kingdom.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost will be of extending the child tax credit to those who cannot claim the children's tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: The costs associated with the child tax credit will depend on the rates of and thresholds for that credit. These are a matter for the Chancellor's Budget statement.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of (a) WFTC , (b) DPTC and (c) child tax credits on (i) wage rates and (ii) incentives for those in work to move to higher paid jobs.

Dawn Primarolo: Working families tax credit, disabled person's tax credit and the child tax credit are designed to make work pay and thereby help to provide employment opportunity for all. Independent estimates suggest that these and other measures such as the national minimum wage, the 10p rate of income tax and reforms to national insurance contributions will improve work incentives. The Government have put in place a comprehensive programme of monitoring and evaluation of these tax credits.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the child care tax credit on child care costs.

Dawn Primarolo: A comprehensive evaluation of the impact of the working families tax credit and the disabled person's tax creditwhich will include an assessment of the impact of the child care tax credit element of both creditsis in progress. The programme of work spans several years and comprises qualitative and quantitative research and analysis.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the cost of new (a) IT and (b) telephone systems to deliver the proposed new tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: The administrative costs associated with the child tax credit and the working tax credit will reflect the number of people receiving those credits. The number of people receiving the credits will depend on the rates of and thresholds for the tax credits, which are a matter for the Chancellor's Budget statement.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions the regulatory impact assessment on the Tax Credits Bill made about the number of claimants of (a) the working tax credit and (b) the child tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: The Regulatory Impact Assessment assumes, for illustrative purposes only, that the current systems of support for children and workers are replicated.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of administering (a) the child tax credit and (b) the working tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of administering the child tax credit and the working tax credit will depend on decisions about the rates of and thresholds for those credits. These are a matter for the Chancellor's Budget statement.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the fiscal impact of the Tax Credits Bill in accordance with section 23(b) of the Code for Fiscal Stability.

Dawn Primarolo: As stated in the pre-Budget report (paragraphs 2.43 and 2.44), the interim forecast does not take account of proposals where final decisions have yet to be taken on rates. This is consistent with the requirements of the Code for Fiscal Stability. The rates of and tapers for the child tax credit and the working tax credit are a matter for the Chancellor's Budget statement.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors he will take into consideration when determining (a) the taper and (b) rates of the different elements of the working tax credit and child tax credit as set out in clauses 9 and 11 of the Tax Credits Bill.

Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor will take all relevant factors into account in reaching a view about the rates of and thresholds for the child tax credit and the working tax credit, as part of the wider Budget process.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made of the number of reassessments a claimant of (a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit would make in a year, in calculating the impact on businesses of the Tax Credits Bill.

Dawn Primarolo: The child tax credit will be paid direct to the main carer by the Inland Revenue and any adjustments to the amounts paid will not affect businesses. The extent to which payments of tax credits will be adjusted in the course of a year will be determined by the circumstances of claimants in individual cases and by the rates of and thresholds for the tax credits. Those rates and thresholds are a matter for the Chancellor's Budget statement.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of the Tax Credits Bill on the targeting of support for families with children.

Dawn Primarolo: The contribution that the proposed measures in the Tax Credits Bill will make to support families with children is considered in chapter 5 of the pre-Budget report.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on the number of claimants of (a) increasing and (b) decreasing by 10 per cent. the top rate for (i) WFTC, (ii) DPTC and (iii) child tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: There is no top rate for the working families tax credit or the disabled person's tax credit.
	It is estimated from household survey data that increasing or decreasing the level of the child tax credit by 10 per cent. would result in a change of something less than 30,000 in the number of eligible families.
	The sample size is too small to yield a more precise estimate.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of discrimination suffered as a consequence of employees claiming DPTC.

Dawn Primarolo: The notification and forms sent to employers use the generic term tax credits and do not contain any references to DPTC. Employers are therefore unable to distinguish between payments of DPTC or WFTC. Employers who discriminate against employees, are acting illegally.

Wanless Report

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received on the interim conclusions of the Wanless report on health funding; what representations he has received from other Government Departments; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: Consultation on Derek Wanless' interim report Securing our future health: taking a long-term view began on 27 November 2001. Several representations have already been received from a range of organisations and individuals. The Government will publish a full list of responses to the consultation when Mr. Wanless' final report is published.

Civil Service Pay

David Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received in respect of the harmonisation of civil service pay and conditions; what proposals he is considering in respect of the reform of civil service pay scales; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: I have received representations from the Council of Civil Service Unions (CCSU), proposing a national framework agreement on civil service pay. Discussions between the Treasury, the Cabinet Office and the CCSU are continuing to explore whether this would be useful in the context of existing pay arrangements which delegate responsibility for pay and grading to Departments and agencies. I have also received correspondence from hon. Members forwarding more than a hundred representations on this issue from their constituents. Departments and agencies have put forward proposals for reform of their pay scales during the current pay round, which are now being implemented.

Phone Bills (VAT)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reduce the VAT payable on telephone bills for pensioners; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: Long-standing agreements with our European partners permit reduced rates of VAT only for a prescribed list of goods and services. Telephone services are not included on this list.

Tax Law Rewrite Project

Barbara Follett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further developments there have been in the Tax Law Rewrite Project.

Dawn Primarolo: The Tax Law Rewrite Project continues to make good progress. It will shortly be publishing its twelfth exposure draft, containing more draft rewritten clauses on employment income, pension and social security income. This will be published on the internet towards the end of this month and will be available in paper form early in the new year.
	The project has also now started work on rewriting the PAYE Regulations. Representative and professional bodies have suggested in discussion that it would be more helpful if the timetable for this work were revised to allow more time for consultation; and the regulations to be made well before the start of the tax year. In order to meet these suggestions I have agreed the project should now plan for the rewritten regulations to be made in the autumn of 2003, to come into force in April 2004.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Listed Places of Worship

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is the estimated cost of administering the listed places of worship grant scheme over its first year.

Kim Howells: The precise details of the contract for the running of this scheme, which could result in approx 30 million going to listed places of worship, are a matter of commercial confidence between ourselves and our appointed contractor, CSL Group Ltd. The contract is set up so that costs are dependent on the success of the scheme, the number of claims processed and the rate at which they are received. As an example, if we were to receive in the region of 10,000 claims over the period to June 2003 we would expect to see costs of around 500,000.

Apsley House

Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when Apsley house was handed to the nation by the Wellesley family; and how much has been spent out of public funds to (a) maintain and (b) refurbish Apsley house in the last 30 years.

Kim Howells: holding answer 6 December 2001
	Apsley house was given to the Government by the 7th Duke of Wellington under the terms of the Wellington Museum Act 1947. The following amounts have been spent on the maintenance and refurbishment of Apsley house:
	
		
			 Year  
		
		
			 199697 135,792.00 
			 199798 221,940.40 
			 199899 178,488.23 
			 19992000 330,008.13 
			 200001 631,095.15 
			 200102 (to date) 71,127.25 
		
	
	The information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Tourism

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she is taking to encourage UK holiday makers to take holidays in the UK over the coming year.

Kim Howells: The Government are working urgently with tourism and other rural stakeholders on an inclusive approach to attracting visitors back to the countryside throughout spring and summer 2002. This is in addition to the strategic advertising and marketing campaigns of the regional tourist boards, such as the Greater London Authority, which has been authorised to switch 500,000 of this year's marketing budget for use in attracting domestic visitors to London. Ministers will continue to attend important domestic events to increase tourism's profile and make people aware of the many good reasons to consider taking their holidays within the UK.
	For the longer term, the Government are reviewing the options for stimulating better co-ordination of the public and private sector funds currently spent on marketing tourism in England. Matters relating to the taking of holidays in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are a fully devolved matter.

Libraries

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what efforts she has made to increase the use of book-lending facilities in public libraries; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government have encouraged better planning, accountability and performance in public library services through the introduction of Annual Library Plans (ALPs) in 1998 and Public Library Standards on 1 April this year. In addition the Government, in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation, have helped to support the reader development work of organisations like Launchpad and the Library Association through the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund, which is administered by Resource. Reader development programmes, for both children and adults, help foster a love of reading and assist in broadening individuals' reading horizons.

Government Art Collection

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the Government Art Collection is open for viewing by members of the public.

Kim Howells: The role of the Government Art Collection is to promote British art and culture in British Government buildings. In fulfilling this brief some 75 per cent. to 80 per cent. of its holdings are on display in several hundred Government buildings in the UK and around the world, where they are seen by a large number of visitors.
	Access to central Government buildings by members of the public to see specific works of art is possible by appointment, depending on current security circumstances. A number of Government buildings in London, as well as the Government Art Collection's premises, are open as part of the Open House scheme during a weekend in September every year. Additionally the Government Art Collection gives regular tours around its premises to specialist groups. The Government Art Collection also lends works of art from its holdings to public exhibitions.

New Opportunities Fund

Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of boundary changes on eligibility for deprivation related funds, with particular reference to the New Opportunities Fund; and what was the outcome of that assessment.

Richard Caborn: We have contacted the New Opportunities Fund to request the information required, and I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as it is available, placing copies of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

New Opportunities Fund

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what basis the average funding per pupil under the New Opportunities for PE and Sport Fund was determined in respect of (a) Herefordshire council and (b) Birmingham council; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The New Opportunities Fund has provisionally allocated funding to each local education authority (LEA) based on the size of the school population and on the levels of deprivation within the individual LEA.

Free Television Licences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pensioners over 75 in the Epsom and Ewell constituency received free television licences.

Kim Howells: Everyone aged 75 or over is entitled to benefit from a free television licence. TV Licensing, which administers this concession for the BBC as Licensing Authority, is not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 8,700 people aged 75 or over in the Epsom and Ewell constituency.

Free Television Licences

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pensioners over 75 years in Hamilton, South constituency receive a free television licence.

Kim Howells: Everyone aged 75 or over is entitled to benefit from a free television licence. TV Licensing, which administers this concession for the BBC as Licensing Authority, is not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, estimates based on the 1991 Census indicate that there were approximately 2,800 people aged 75 or over in the Hamilton, South constituency.

Arts Bodies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimates she has made of the savings to be made by making changes proposed in Working Together for the Arts; what evidence she has received that the savings proposed in Working Together for the Arts are deliverable; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Working Together for the Arts set a savings target of 810 million. We will expect the Arts Council to achieve this. How it does so is an operational matter for the Arts Council.

Arts Bodies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she has set for the Arts Council of England to meet to ensure her Department's continued support for the proposals ACE sets out in 'Working Together for the Arts'; which of those criteria are being met; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Our approval of the Arts Council's plans for the reorganisation of arts funding in England will be conditional upon it demonstrating to our satisfaction that it will indeed involve the delegation of more power and funding to the regions, and the delivery of savings, as promised. The Arts Council is still working on the details of the reorganisation, but a recent progress report confirms that it is addressing both issues.

Performing Arts

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last met representatives of (a) Equity, (b) the Writers Guild and (c) other bodies representing the performing arts.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has yet to meet formally representatives of Equity or the Writers Guild although she has met many individual artists and arts administrators over the past seven months, both formally and informally.

Network Q Rally

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she plans to have with the Motor Sports Association in connection with their investigation into the accident during the Brechja stage of the Network Q Rally of Great Britain.

Richard Caborn: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have had discussions with the Motor Sports Association in relation to their investigation into the accident during the Brechfa stage of the Network Q Rally of Great Britain. I understand that the Motor Sports Association is undertaking a full inquiry into the accident and that it is its intention to publish a summary of the findings. I will ensure a copy of the summary is placed in the House Library as soon as my Department receives it.

British Grand Prix

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations have been made by the Government to secure the continuation of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Richard Caborn: I met representatives of Octagon Motorsports, the British Racing Drivers' Club, and the Motor Sports Association on 11 December to hear at first hand Octagon's proposals for improving arrangements for the 2002 British Grand Prix at Silverstone as well as wider proposals for the long term development of Silverstone Following that meeting I met Max Mosley, President of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, on 12 December to inform him of the Government's commitment to motor sport and the British Grand Prix. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister also wrote to Mr. Mosley on this issue.

New Millennium Experience Company

James Purnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when a liquidator will be appointed for the New Millennium Experience Company.

Kim Howells: Following the orderly winding down of operations by the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), the company's directors today took steps to commence a Members Voluntary Liquidation. The Minister for Housing and Planning, NMEC's sole shareholder, has formally appointed Richard Heis and Stephen Treharne, two partners of KPMG, as liquidators.
	NMEC's final annual report and financial statements for the period 1 January 2001 to 18 December 2001 will be available tomorrow and I will arrange for copies of the report to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Gibraltar

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to discuss the issue of Spain's access to the airport in Gibraltar with the Governor of Gibraltar.

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) on 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 471W. The Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with the Governor of Gibraltar on all issues relating to Gibraltar. These exchanges are confidential and in accordance with exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

China

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was discussed at the human rights dialogue held between the United Kingdom and China in November.

Denis MacShane: The seventh round of the UK-China Human Rights dialogue took place in London on 1921 November.
	We discussed a wide range of human rights concerns including: Tibet and Xinjiang; freedoms of expression, religion and association; Falun Gong; the abuse of psychiatry; criminal justice issues, including the death penalty, torture and re-education through labour; North Korean refugees; co-operation with UN human rights mechanisms, including visits by Special Rapporteurs; the ratification of the two Human Rights Covenants and International Labour Organisation Conventions; the blocking of the BBC World Service website and Mandarin Service. We also discussed the programmes of practical co-operation between the UK and China to promote human rights and the rule of law.
	We raised 22 individual cases of concern.
	As well as the formal talks, we organised two sessions involving outside experts to discuss the role of the media and on the administration of criminal justice. We also arranged for the Chinese delegation to visit the BBC World Service and the Central Criminal Courts.

Tajikistan

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to open an embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Peter Hain: We will open an embassy headed by a Charg d'Affaires on 20 December 2001. Until then our Ambassador in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) will remain cross-accredited to Tajikistan.

Somalia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representatives of which (a) governmental and (b) quasi-governmental organisations his officials are in contact with in Somalia; and if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards relations with Somalia.

Ben Bradshaw: Officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, and in our diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa and Nairobi, are in contact with a wide range of governmental and quasi-governmental representatives in Somalia. Since the collapse of the Republic of Somalia in 1991 we have had no formal diplomatic relations with Somalia.

Iraq

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts his officials have had with (a) representatives of Iraqi Kurdish groups, (b) the Kurdish Parliament and (c) the Government in Baghdad covering the future of the northern part of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: FCO Ministers and officials have regular contact with Iraqi Kurdish groups. I recently met Nechirvan Barzani and Kosrat Rasoul, senior representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) respectively. FCO officials have also met members elected to the Kurdish Parliament in 1992. Although HMG do not have diplomatic relations with Iraq, officials in New York are always available to speak to the Iraqis if they wish to do so.
	HMG are committed to the maintenance of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its current borders. The only long-term future for Iraq's Kurds is as part of a stable, peaceful Iraq which gives them a negotiated degree of autonomy.

Victims of Homicide

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps UK posts abroad are taking to ensure that copies of the Home Office pack for Victims of Homicide, 3rd edition, are being made available to families of UK subjects murdered abroad.

Ben Bradshaw: The FCO does all it can to help the families of British nationals murdered overseas. The needs of each family are different. We will usually give the families leaflets published by the FCO on Victims of Crime Abroad and Death Overseas and put them in touch with relevant agencies in the UK who may be able to help them (such as the local police and victim support). The Home Office pack Victims of Homicide, 3rd edition is designed for the relatives of those murdered in the UK and is handed out at the discretion of the police.

Entry Applications

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will investigate the application for entrance to the UK made by an individual whose name has been communicated to him, to the Istanbul Embassy; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I will investigate the circumstances of this application and write to the hon. Member.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries (a) hold and (b) are suspected of holding stocks of (i) chemical weapons, (ii) biological weapons and (iii) nuclear weapons.

Ben Bradshaw: There are four states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (the US, Russia, India and another state party) that have declared possession of chemical weapons, to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). They are currently in the process of destroying them, in accordance with their obligations under the Convention. Information received in confidence from Foreign Governments is exempt under Exemption 1c of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
	The development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons was prohibited by the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972.
	The UK recognises five nuclear weapon states as defined by the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT-1968) (UK, US, France, Russia, China). India and Pakistan have announced that they have a nuclear weapons capability. The UK continues to encourage Israel to resolve concerns about its nuclear programme by acceding to the NPT as a non-Nuclear Weapon State. We have also encouraged Israel to sign a full scope safeguards agreement and supported United Nations General Assembly Resolutions on a Middle East nuclear weapons' free zone. A large number of other states have the technical capacity to produce nuclear weapons, but have committed themselves not to do so by adhering to the NPT.
	It has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on specific intelligence matters or assessments.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the use of a scorecard approach in pursuit of the Public Service Agreement target for building a modern NATO.

Ben Bradshaw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been using the current set of scorecard targets since the start of the Spending Review 2000 triennial.
	We have made good progress towards our target of a modernised NATO to improve Europe's security. This year's scorecard measure is to re-engage Russia in the full range of PJC co-operation. The UK has been proactive in transforming the new NATO/Russia relationship and on 6 December the North Atlantic Council launched a process to establish new mechanisms for working with Russia at 20.
	We have continued to press the case for NATO modernisation and have actively supported Lord Robertson's NATO Plus initiative. NATO Plus is a programme for reform of working methods at NATO HQ and bringing them in line with best practice in the public and private sectors elsewhere.

Zimbabwe

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the present relationship between the Zimbabwean Government and the Southern African Development Community.

Ben Bradshaw: Mindful of the economic damage that Zimbabwe is inflicting on the region, the countries of the Southern African Development Community have set clear benchmarks against which they will measure the Zimbabwe Government's conduct. We welcome SADC's efforts to encourage stability in Zimbabwe and a change of direction in Zimbabwe Government policy.

Zimbabwe

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking in conjunction with the international community to ensure those engaged in violence and murder in Zimbabwe are brought to justice.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 17 December 2001
	We and other members of the international community regularly remind the Zimbabwe Government of their obligations under the Harare Commonwealth Declaration, the Cotonou Agreement, the Abuja Agreement and other international instruments to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of the individual.

Moluccas

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation of Christians in the Moluccas Islands.

Ben Bradshaw: We continue to monitor events in the province closely. The United Nations has made several assessment visits to Maluku since 1999. They have found concrete evidence of only a small number of forced conversions, including the most highly reported cases in Kasiui and Tior. Many of the Christians evacuated from the province in January are now reported to be voluntarily returning to their homes. Also, many Muslims and Christians who fled their villages to escape the violence are returning, and Muslim leaders in some villages have asked for help in encouraging Christians to return.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged more than 4 million to help establish the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conflict Prevention and Recovery Unit in Jakarta. The unit will build up capacity in conflict reduction and recovery in the provinces torn apart by ethnic conflict, particularly in North Maluku. These new initiatives will complement DFID-supported humanitarian relief programmes by addressing the causes underlying conflict, abuse of power, alienation and loss of access to and control of resources essential for everyday life. The embassy in Jakarta has also recently funded a series of conflict reporting training workshops for journalists in various provinces in Indonesia, including North Maluku. We will continue to work with the Indonesian authorities and UNDP to promote reconciliation, begin wider reconstruction work and to offer practical assistance where appropriate.
	The UK's message to the Indonesian Government has been consistently clear: a long-term solution to regional conflicts can only be achieved through political negotiation and consultation with the people. On 29 November, the British Charg d'Affaires in Jakarta raised our concerns about recent violence in Maluku with Manuel Kaisiepo, the Minister for Eastern Indonesia.

European Journalism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on UK participation in (a) the European Journalism Centre Maastricht, (b) l'Association pour la Formation au Journalisme Europenne, Bordeaux, (c) la Foundation Journalisme en Europe, Paris and (d) the European Journalists' Association.

Peter Hain: We are not aware of any recent FCO participation in these organisations.

Association Jean Monnet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy towards European Community (a) financial and (b) other support towards the Association Jean Monnet; and if he will deposit a list of Community- funded material published by this body in the Library.

Peter Hain: I understand that the Association Jean Monnet has received community funding in the past. For further details I suggest the hon. Member contact the Commission directly.

EU Info-Points

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the locations of (a) EU Info-Points and (b) Rural Information and Promotion Carrefour in the UK; what (i) EU and (ii) UK funding they receive; and if he will make a statement on their activities.

Peter Hain: There are no EU Info-Points in the UK. There are six Carrefours in the UK, in Preston, Cirencester, Inverness, Clogher (Northern Ireland), Llangefini (Anglesey, North Wales) and Carmarthen (West Wales).
	The EU has provided 20,000 euros to each Carrefour for the financial year 200001. The centres do not receive UK Government funding.
	Carrefours are rural advice and information centres, supported by the European Commission. Their activities are outlined in the European Commission Representation to the UK's website at www.cec.org.uk.

Afghanistan

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that the protection of children's rights is incorporated into the international communities action regarding Afghanistan.

Ben Bradshaw: The Bonn Agreement states the commitment of the participants in the peace talks to promote national reconciliation, lasting peace, stability and respect for human rights in Afghanistan.
	The international community is fully committed to the restoration of the rights of children in Afghanistan. The Government fully support the work of UNICEF and other NGOs working to achieve this.
	UNICEF's operations to date have focused on immediate relief requirements. 1.7 million children remain in need of urgent assistance. The international coalition has made it clear that the humanitarian action in Afghanistan is as important as miliary action. The Taliban were one of the main obstacles to getting humanitarian relief through. Now that their grip on most of the country has gone, many more aid convoys are reaching the people who need them.
	Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to teach. When the Taliban came to power in 1996, in Kabul alone, 100,000 girls and 150,000 boys were forced to leave school. The provision of education will be key to the protection of children's rights in Afghanistan. UNICEF is currently planning for the start of the next school year in March. They hope to get 30,000 teachers and as many children as possible back to school then.

Pakistan

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made on the use of capital punishment against people who transgress blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 966W.

Pakistan

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Government Ministers have visited Pakistan in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The following Government Ministers have visited Pakistan in each of the last three years:
	1999:
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development;
	2000:
	There were no ministerial visits in 2000;
	2001:
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister;
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; and
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development.

Permanent Secretary

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the names of persons who were on the shortlist for the position of Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Ben Bradshaw: Sir Michael Jay was selected to follow Sir John Kerr as head of the Diplomatic Service, and Permanent Under-Secretary of State, following consideration of all members of the Service who had the requisite experience and were willing to run. It is not our normal practice to make public the names of unsuccessful candidates as to do so would be a breach of the non-disclosure provision of the Data Protection Act 1998. Exemption 15A of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information refers.

Race Discrimination

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many race discrimination cases there have been against his Department in the last four years.

Ben Bradshaw: Six claims have been lodged with the Employment Tribunal in the last four years which have cited race discrimination. Only one case proceeded to a full hearing, which was found in favour of the FCO. The other five cases were either withdrawn or settled out of court.

International Criminal Court

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made in ratifying the statutes establishing the International Criminal Court.

Peter Hain: The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was open for signature between 17 July 1998 and 31 December 2000. During this period 139 states signed the statute of which 46 have since ratified. The United Kingdom deposited its instruments of ratification on 4 October 2001, the 42nd state to do so. One state has acceded to the statute. The statute will come into force upon receipt of the 60th ratification or accession.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Refreshment Department

Barry Sheerman: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  how many people have been employed by the Refreshment Department in each year since 1990;
	(2)  how many of those employed by the Refreshment Department in each year since 1990 have been managers.

Archy Kirkwood: The hon. Member will recall that by 1990, when Sir Robin Ibbs made his recommendations for the future management of House services, there was considerable dissatisfaction with the catering services provided by the Refreshment Department. Since then, the House has not only invested in its catering premises, but also in the training and development of the staff and management of the Refreshment Department. The management task has increased over this period in order to maintain and improve the standard of catering provided in a larger number of outlets, while modern business management techniques have required the employment of managers with specialist skills, such as IT, training, and procurement expertise.
	The authorised staffing levels and senior management posts in the Refreshment Department since 1990 were as shown in the table.
	
		
			  Financial year Authorised staff complement(2) Senior management posts(3) 
		
		
			 198990 263 8 
			 199091 266.5 8 
			 199192 305.5 8 
			 199293 309.5 8 
			 199394 318.5 8 
			 199495 318.5 10 
			 199596 317.5 12 
			 199697 316.5 14 
			 199798 310 15 
			 199899 314.5 15 
			 19992000 313.5 16 
			 200001 300 16 
		
	
	(2) Staff numbers are stated as full-time equivalent posts as at the end of each financial year, except for 200001, which is calculated as the average across the year.
	(3) Senior management is defined as Band B (previously Grade 8) and above in the main House of Commons service.
	In addition to the senior manager posts listed in the table, the Refreshment Department employs a team of Assistant Managers and supervisory staff (sous chefs, head waiters, cafeteria and restaurant supervisors, etc.) who undertake management responsibilities as part of their duties. As at the end of November 2001, the Department employed 36 such management staff in addition to the 16 posts reported in the table. No figures are available for previous years, as this information was not recorded.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

Peter Bottomley: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  what information is available to the Commission of the average standard days worked each week by the Parliamentary Commissioner;
	(2)  if he has made available to hon. Members the assessment that led the Commission to decide to reduce the Parliamentary Commissioner's days of pay to three days a week.

Archy Kirkwood: The Chairman of the Committee on Standards and Privileges has indicated to the Commission that the Commissioner for Standards has worked on average about five days a week.
	In setting an appropriate time commitment for the Commissioner, and resources to support the Commissioner's work, the long-term need must be established. The Commission has instructed the House's Internal Review Service to carry out a new assessment of the workload and resources required. The Commission will also seek the advice of the new Commissioner and the Chairman of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, and has undertaken to provide what resources are judged to be required.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

Peter Bottomley: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission intended to make the contents of the recent letter from the Parliamentary Commissioner available to hon. Members and to the public.

Archy Kirkwood: It is not the practice of the Commission to make public letters written to the Speaker by Officers of the House.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

Housing (London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his estimate is of the total cost of necessary capital works in public sector housing in (a) the London borough of Southwark and (b) Greater London; and how much has been allocated for expenditure in the (i) current and (ii) next financial years.

Sally Keeble: Southwark have estimated that, as at 1 April 2001, they need to spend 232 million on capital repairs and improvements on their own housing stock. The estimate for all authorities in Greater London is 5,380 million. Southwark's combined Housing Annual Capital Guideline and Major Repairs Allowance allocations for the current and next financial years are 52.636 million and 54.547 million respectively. The equivalent allocations for Greater London are 716.010 million and 723.013 million.

Rural Services

David Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to improve the ability of rural local authorities to provide services.

Alan Whitehead: The Government have recently published a new Local Government White Paper, which sets out measures that should increase the ability of all local authorities to deliver services. These include some initiatives, such as new powers for local authorities to work together, which will particularly benefit rural authorities.

Planning

David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to reform the planning system.

Stephen Byers: I launched last week our Green Paper proposing fundamental reforms to the planning system. We want to deliver a faster, fairer system, that places communities at the heart of the planning process. At the same time I published a consultation paper on fundamental reforms to arrangements for compulsory purchase.
	This week I have published consultation papers on Parliamentary Procedures associated with planning applications for major infrastructure projects and on reform of the system of planning obligations.

Local Government Finance

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to reform local government finance.

Nick Raynsford: The Government have set out radical proposals for reforming local government finance in the local government White Paper Strong Local LeadershipQuality Public Services. Copies of the White Paper which has been very well received, have been placed in the House Library.

Local Government Finance

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to reform local government finance.

Harry Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to reform local government finance.

Nick Raynsford: The Government have set out radical proposals for reforming local government finance in the local government White Paper Strong Local LeadershipQuality Public Services. Copies of the White Paper, which has been very well received, have been placed in the House Library.

Roadworks (Utilities)

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidance he gives to local authorities on minimising traffic disturbance connected to roadworks undertaken by utilities; and if he will make statement.

Stephen Byers: Authorities must co-ordinate works to minimise inconvenience to road users, and utilities must co-operate with them. Guidance is given in a code of practice on co-ordination and in Best Practice in Street Works and Highway Works, published by my Department in conjunction with the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee.

Train Delays

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what percentage of trains were subject to delay in (a) September and (b) November.

David Jamieson: The rail industry is monitored by four-weekly periods, not calendar months. In the period from 19 August to 13 October, 78.7 per cent. of services were punctual. In the period from 14 October to 10 November, the last period for which figures are available, 72.3 per cent. of services were punctual.

Council House Sales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will take steps to allow the phased release of receipts from council house sales to the appropriate local authorities.

Sally Keeble: The requirement for a proportion of housing capital receipts to be set-aside to offset debt allows a greater share of new investment to be targeted at areas of highest need. Last week's Local Government White Paper set out our intention to retain this requirement in England. The National Assembly for Wales will be consulting separately on changes to the Welsh local government finance system, which will cover this issue.

Housing (Deprived Areas)

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to improve public housing in areas of high deprivation.

Sally Keeble: We have made a commitment to bring all social housing up to a decent standard by 2010 with a reduction of one third being made by 2004. Most of the reduction in the period up to 2004 will be in deprived areas. This objective is supported by the substantial element of targeting of resources to deprived areas incorporated within the needs indices which underpin resource allocation.

Transport (Christmas)

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to maintain the effective operation of the transport system during the Christmas period.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for operators of public transport services. I understand that most public transport services will not operate on Christmas day, and very restricted services will run on Boxing day. For the rest of the holiday period, services will operate either normal or reduced timetables, according to the anticipated demand. No problems are expected on the road network.

Rail Investment

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent assessment he has made of the progress made with investment programmes within the rail sector.

David Jamieson: We believe that our current public expenditure plans will deliver the rail investment programmes provided for in the 10-Year Plan for Transport.

Business Rates (Domestic Properties)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to exempt office space in domestic properties from business rates.

Alan Whitehead: None. Business rates will be payable only where part of a domestic property is separately identifiable as being used as office space or for other non-domestic purposes. The remainder of the property will remain subject to council tax, although a reduction may be made to the property's banding to reflect the change in use of part of it.

Unitary Authorities (Coastal Towns)

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent assessment he has made of the performance of unitary authorities in seaside and coastal towns.

Alan Whitehead: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made no assessment of the performance of unitary authorities. We are putting in place a comprehensive performance assessment framework for all councils building on existing audit, inspections and assessments, including assessments of corporate capabilities. These assessments will be compiled by the Audit Commission with assistance from other inspectorates.

Electoral Reform

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to establish an independent body to review the electoral system for local government elections in England.

Alan Whitehead: The Government have already established the independent Electoral Commission. This will be looking at various aspects of the electoral system for local elections, including the effective and efficient conduct of such elections and the use of innovatory pilot schemes. From 1 April 2002, the Electoral Commission will also take responsibility for the review of local electoral area boundaries and the number of councillors elected by those areas.

Car Free Day

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what involvement his Department had in European car free day 2001.

Sally Keeble: On 19 September the UK Government signed a pledge, drawn up by the European Commission, to promote European In town without my car day to local authorities. On 20 September we wrote to the Local Government Association and to the Devolved Administrations setting out our position.

Train Services

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on levels of reliability of train services; and what the levels were (a) one and (b) two years ago.

David Jamieson: Reliability of train services may be defined as the percentage number of services that ran against the published timetable. On that basis:
	97.5 per cent. of trains operated for the 12 months up to 13 October 2001.
	98.6 per cent. of trains operated for the 12 months up to 14 October 2000.
	99 per cent. of trains operated for the 12 months up to 16 October 1999.

Trunk Roads (Norfolk)

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has for upgrading Norfolk's trunk roads; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: We recently announced the preferred routes for schemes to dual the last two single carriageway sections of the A11 trunk road between the M11 in Cambridgeshire and the city of Norwich. Studies have been commissioned to look at safety, congestion and other transport related problems along the A47 corridor in Norfolk. A 4.5 million scheme to improve the A47 Hardwick roundabout is programmed to start in the next financial year.

Railtrack

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will release the minutes of the meetings that took place between 1 July and 30 September between the Government, Railtrack and Credit Suisse First Boston.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend informed the House about relevant discussions with Railtrack and its advisers in his statement of 15 October.
	There is no commitment under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information that pre-existing documents, as distinct from information, will be made available in response to requests.
	It is not, in any case, the Government's practice to release information the disclosure of which may be an issue in legal proceedings. Such information is exempted from disclosure under section 4 of Part II of the Code.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the sum that would need to be granted to (a) Railtrack plc and (b) Railtrack Group to give the bonds an A Credit rating.

John Spellar: The credit rating of the proposed Company Limited by Guarantee would depend upon its structure and financial framework.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what were the sums (a) agreed in 2000 and (b) at the latest date for which information is available for payments to Railtrack in (i) 200102, (ii) 200203 and (iii) 200304 by the (A) Government and (B) Strategic Rail Authority.

John Spellar: holding answer 10 December 2001
	I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson) to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 555W.

Railtrack

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what legal requirement will be placed on the administrators of Railtrack under the strategic plan drawn up by the Strategic Rail Authority.

Stephen Byers: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The Strategic Plan will be published on 14 January.

Air Traffic

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to limit the vectoring off from approved routes by National Air Traffic Control when residential areas are affected.

David Jamieson: The Government have no such plans. While the balance of environmental advantage generally lies in concentrating departing aircraft along routes that avoid densely populated areas where possible, the vectoring of aircraft from such routes once they have climbed above agreed minimum altitudes is necessary for efficient and safe management of aircraft.

Rail Franchises

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what response he has given to proposals from train franchisees to acquire and run vertically integrated operations.

David Jamieson: I have not responded to any specific proposals.

Rail Franchises

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidance his Department gave to the Strategic Rail Authority on the renewal of rail passenger franchises in (a) September 1999 and (b) July 2001; what plans there are to make any amendments to this guidance; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State's Instructions and Guidance to the Franchising Director, issued on 29 September 1999, addressed this issue. A revised approach was set out in the draft Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority and the draft Statement of Policy on Passenger Rail Franchising issued for consultation on 29 June and 16 July respectively.
	The consultation responses received on the draft Franchising Policy statement are being considered and a revised version will be published very shortly.

Rail Franchises

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the rail franchise renewal process.

David Jamieson: A revised approach to franchising was set out in the draft Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority and the draft Statement of Policy on Passenger Rail Franchising issued for consultation on 29 June and 16 July respectively. The responses received are under consideration.
	The Strategic Rail Authority's franchising programme will be reviewed in the light of this. An announcement will be made in due course.

East of England Development Agency

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent discussions he has had with the East of England Development Agency on the region's transport infrastructure.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State has had no specific discussions with the East of England Development Agency on the state of the region's transport infrastructure. Ministers are, however, aware of the Agency's transport priorities as set out in their Regional Economic Strategy, published in June this year.

Euston-North Wales Rail Service

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when his Department last met the office of the Rail Regulator to discuss the quality of the service provided by Virgin trains between Euston and North Wales; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority monitors train operators for both performance and quality of service. The Authority has regular contact with the operators, including official quarterly meetings with senior management to discuss areas of concern. My Department are in regular contact with the authority over these matters.

Regional Rail Services

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what discussions he has had with the Strategic Rail Authority on devolving rail services on a regional basis.

John Spellar: There have been no such discussions. Special arrangements apply in Scotland following devolution. But the Government's general view is that the GB railway is a national network and should be operated as such.

Antisocial Tenants

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what interdepartmental co-ordination there is on speeding up the eviction of antisocial tenants.

Sally Keeble: My officials are liaising with colleagues in other Government Departments, in particular the Home Office, Lord Chancellor's Department and the Court Service.

Local Authority Grant Settlement

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received from local authorities in country districts on the grant settlement for 200203.

Alan Whitehead: By midday on 11 December, we had received 15 representations from shire district councils concerning the 200203 grant settlement. Of these, 11 relate to the data used for the authority concerned. The other four relate to the methodology used or level of funding provided by the settlement.

Millennium Dome

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made in relation to the future use of the Millennium Dome.

Stephen Byers: Meridian Delta Ltd. have today been appointed exclusive partners with English Partnerships for the regeneration of the Greenwich peninsula and to take over ownership of the Millennium Dome, through a 999 year lease.
	Once legally concluded the deal will provide a 20,000 seat arena inside the Dome, surrounded by an urban entertainment complex. The total investment in and around the Dome will be 200 million. The deal also provides for the regeneration of the Greenwich peninsula through a joint venture between EP and MDL which, over its 20 year lifetime, will provide a total investment of around 4 billion, at least 5,000 new homes and an estimated 20,000 full-time jobs.
	Meridian Delta Ltd. is a consortium that includes Lend Lease (developers of the Sydney Olympic Village and the Bluewater shopping centre), Quintain Estates and Development and Anschutz Entertainment Groupthe second largest entertainment company in the world.
	English Partnerships expects to conclude a legally binding contract with MDL by the end of May 2002, but it is intended that it will provide both a guaranteed minimum price for the land that English Partnership is putting into the joint venture and a substantial share of the overall remaining profits of the joint venture.
	The precise amount to be received by EP over the lifetime of the deal depends on the final details of the deal and the amount of development ultimately undertaken. However, it will amount to several hundred million pounds and is structured in such a way that it is likely to generate better value for the public sector than could have been achieved through either of the deals with Nomura or Legacy. The deal also provides for MDL to take on all of the risks associated with operating and maintaining the Dome. The public sector's only remaining interest will be to receive a share of profits once they exceed a threshold, still to be determined.
	We welcome the fact that the National Audit Office is scrutinising the sale process and will report to Parliament. We have kept the NAO informed throughout and will continue to do so.

Lincolnshire County Council

Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the National Standards Board is investigating complaints about the establishment of a local standards committee by Lincolnshire county council; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: holding answer 11 December 2001
	The Standards Board is not investigating the matter. However, I understand that the Chairman of the Standards Board has written to the Chief Executive of Lincolnshire asking the council's views regarding the composition of its standards committee.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will give the total investment in the core London Underground infrastructure in each year since 199091; and if he will give an estimate for 200102.

David Jamieson: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Keith Hill) to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 8 May 2001, Official Report, column 23W. The actual level of investment in 200001 was set out in London Transport's annual report 200001, published in July of this year.
	London Underground has been set a target of delivering total investment expenditure of at least 410 million in 200102.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the comparative international data available to London Underground as a result of their membership of the CoMet group of international metros.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for London Underground (LU) which is a member of CoMet. I am advised by LU that all members of CoMet are required to sign a written confidentiality agreement; information between operators within the group is exchanged on a confidential basis.

London Underground

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 3 December 2001, Official Report, columns 1415W, if his Department (a) is testing and (b) has asked Ernst and Young to test alternative discount rates for the London Underground PPP; and if he has asked Ernst and Young to conduct Monte Carlo simulations as an element of their robustness assessment.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 5 November 2001, Official Report, column 10W. Ernst and Young's terms of reference are available in the Libraries of the House.

Cherished Number Plates

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how the income generated by the sale of cherished plates is distributed among (a) Government Departments and (b) nations and regions of the United Kingdom.

David Jamieson: After the administrative costs of running the Sale of Marks Scheme have been met, the remaining receipts are paid to the Exchequer to be allocated to spending programmes in line with the Government priorities for public services.

Rough Sleepers Unit

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans the rough sleepers unit has to improve support and services provided during the day for street homeless people.

Sally Keeble: The RSU has already invested over 2 million from its Special Innovation Fund to put in place education, training and employment schemes around the country that have helped over 2,500 former rough sleepers to make the move to independent living.
	The RSU has also funded the development of a website showing employment, advice and training resources available for homeless people in London and is working with Business Action on Homelessness and the Employment Service to deliver tailored solutions to help former rough sleepers back into employment.
	This work is backed up by 23 Tenancy Sustainment Teams (TSTs) in areas across England that give former rough sleepers the help they need to keep their new home and to route former rough sleepers into education, training and employment.
	The Unit also funds a range of day centres around the country and has developed 10 learning zones linked to hostels and day centres to provide work based training in businesses, to help former rough sleepers back into paid employment.
	In the future the new Homelessness Directorate of the DTLR will ensure that schemes that rebuild the lives of former rough sleepers will help to sustain the reductions already made in rough sleeping since 1998.

Rents (London)

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many properties (a) in London as a whole and (b) in each London borough have rents above the relevant rent cap for their size; and what percentage these properties represent of the relevant categories of housing stock in both local authority and RSL sectors.

Sally Keeble: Estimates based on the 1996 English House Condition Survey (the latest suitable data available) suggest that in London as a whole around 30,000 local authority properties and 15,000 RSL properties currently have rents above the relevant rent cap for their size. These properties represent around 5 per cent. of the local authority housing stock and 7 per cent. of the RSL stock in London in 1996. We expect the number of properties with rents above the relevant cap to be reduced by rent restructuring. We do not have equivalent information at an individual London borough level.

Rents (London)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many RSL tenants in (a) Battersea and (b) Wandsworth (i) pay rent above 100 per week and (ii) would have their rent reduced under rent restructuring in April 2002.

Sally Keeble: The information is not available. To avoid excessive administrative burden, information is not collected centrally on the rents of individual properties owned by local authorities and RSLs. Moreover, individual landlords retain responsibility for rent-setting.

Rent Restructuring

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the oral statement of 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 136WH, (a) how he has calculated his assessment that the rents of one council tenant in five will fall under his rent restructuring proposals, (b) what assessment he has made of the regional variations in this figure and (c) what proportion of tenants in RSL properties he estimates will see a fall in real term rents as a result of his policies.

Sally Keeble: (a) The assessment that the rents of one council tenant in five will fall in real terms under our restructuring proposals was an estimate based upon modelling using the English House Condition Survey (EHCS) database.
	(b) Estimates from the EHCS database suggest that the proportion of council tenants whose rents fall in real terms varies from around one in 15 in Yorkshire and the Humber to almost one in three in London.
	(c) We expect the proportion of tenants in RSL properties who see a fall in rents in real terms as a result of our policies to be somewhat higher than that of council tenants.
	For both sectors the actual figure will depend upon the rent-setting decisions of individual landlords.

West Coast Main Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 383W, on the west coast main line, whether the Government have given financial guarantees to an organisation in relation to the Hartwell agreement on (a) the west coast main line and (b) the Virgin cross country franchise; what is the total cost estimated by the Strategic Rail Authority for the Virgin cross country franchise upgrade; and how dependent this upgrade is on (i) completion of Phase I west coast main line upgrade and (ii) Phase 2 west coast main line upgrade.

David Jamieson: holding answer 13 December 2001
	The Government have given no financial guarantees in relation to the Hartwell agreement. Financial support to the cross country franchise is set out in the annual report of the Strategic Rail Authority, which was placed in the Library of the House in July. Various enhancements of the cross country route have been undertaken by Railtrack; the costs are a matter for Railtrack. Improvements to journey times for cross country trains operating on the west coast main line are dependent on work to be carried out by Railtrack which will permit 125 mph operation with tilting trains at certain locations.

Planning Applications

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many planning applications were called in by him in the last 12 months.

Sally Keeble: 127 planning applications were called in in the last financial year (1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001).

Planning Applications

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what percentage of planning applications served with an article 14 holding direction have been subsequently called in by him in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Sally Keeble: 29 per cent. of the planning applications subject to an Article 14 Direction during the last financial year (1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001) were subsequently called in.

Channel Tunnel

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the impact of the security situation at Frethun on railfreight traffic through the channel tunnel; and what steps he is taking to (a) reduce interruption to traffic and (b) mitigate the financial impact on British rail terminal operations.

David Jamieson: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Rail freight through the channel tunnel is currently being disrupted due to repeated intrusions by would-be illegal immigrants to this country. This is a matter of considerable concern to the Government. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has raised the issue with the French Prime Minister. My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Minister for Transport have both made representations to the French Transport Minister emphasising the need for a speedy resolution so that normal levels of service can resume, free of intrusion from illegal immigrants. The UK Immigration Service held a meeting with the head of security for the French railways on 3 December to investigate the scope for speeding up the implementation of additional security measures at the Frethun freight yard, and to offer assistance and advice on those security measures.
	The question of compensation is one for the French railways, as it is their decision to reduce services that has resulted in the financial impact to British operators.

Channel Tunnel

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent representations he has made to his French counterparts on security measures on rail freight using the channel tunnel.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has raised the issue with the French Transport Minister; and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport have both made representations to him emphasising the need for a speedy resolution so that normal levels of service can resume, free of intrusion from illegal immigrants. The UK Immigration Service held a meeting with the head of security for the French railways on 3 December to investigate the scope for speeding up the implementation of additional security measures at the Frethun freight yard, and to offer assistance and advice on those security measures.

Rail Industry

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library copies of (a) the documentation related to the railway safety cases for mark 1 passenger carriages submitted to the Health and Safety Executive and (b) the assessment of these safety cases by the Health and Safety Executive since December 2000.

David Jamieson: Every railway operator is required to have a railway safety case setting out the arrangements for its management of health and safety across the board. These are lengthy and detailed documents covering a wide range of health and safety issues including those relating to passenger rolling stock. They are available for public inspection at the relevant operators' premises.

Social Housing

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of social housing built in 200001 was funded entirely by the public sector.

Sally Keeble: 1.29 per cent. of social housing new build units approved for building in 200001 was funded entirely by the public sector.

Housing Targets (South-East)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the basis on which applications for new housing resulting from Government housing targets for the south-east will be permitted on green belt land.

Sally Keeble: Our policy in PPG3 on Housing and in Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) is clear that applications for housing should follow a search sequence, starting with the use of previously developed land and buildings within urban areas identified by the use of housing capacity, the urban extensions, and finally new development around nodes in good public transport corridors. It is for local authorities, in their development plans, to identify sites to be allocated for housing in accordance with the guidance in PPG3 and RPG9.
	Our policy in PPG2 on green belts continues to place a presumption against inappropriate development such as housing in the green belt. We consider that green belts in the south-east are important in preventing urban sprawl, in preventing the coalescence of settlements and in protecting the countryside. Indeed RPG9 recognises that there is no regional case for reviewing the boundaries of green belts.

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has responsibility for civil contingency facilities underneath the QE2 Conference Centre.

Alan Whitehead: No.

Council Tax

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is the anticipated average percentage increase in Band D council tax across England for 200203, based on this year's local government finance settlement.

Alan Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 December 2001, Official Report, column 30W.

Planning Applications (East Devon)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many outstanding planning applications there are in the East Devon constituency.

Sally Keeble: The latest information available to the Department is that there were 683 planning applications outstanding at the end of September 2001 by East Devon district planning authority.

Departmental Publications

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list each new publication issued by his Department since 1997; and what the total cost to the Department is of each publication.

Alan Whitehead: DTLR has a very wide range of policy responsibilities and therefore publishes a large number of publications. The cost of tracing and listing the total costs of each individual publication would thus be disproportionate. A list of the titles of the main publications produced through DTLR's Directorate of Communication between June 2001, when the Department was created, and November 2001 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Major Road Schemes

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the major existing road schemes in the Local Transport Settlement that are due to be carried out in 200203; which additional schemes have been (a) postponed because work is still progress and (b) rejected; and which authorities will receive the additional funding provided for road maintenance in 200203.

Sally Keeble: Work is planned to start during the financial year 200203 on the following local major road schemes accepted for funding in previous year's Local Transport Settlements. The exact timing of the work is the responsibility of the relevant local authority and may depend on the satisfactory completion of any remaining statutory procedures. Construction work on a further 32 schemes is already in progress.
	Baldock BypassHertfordshire
	Nar-Ouse Regeneration ProjectNorfolk
	South Lowestoft Relief RoadSuffolk
	W. Thurrock Regeneration Ring RoadThurrock
	Arlesey Bridge ReplacementBedfordshire
	A142 Fordham BypassCambridgeshire
	A1073 Spalding to Eye ImprovementLincs/Peterborough
	A617 Mansfield Ashfield Regeneration RouteNottinghamshire
	Eastern Transport CorridorDarlington
	A689 Sedgefield to Wynard ImprovementDurham
	Bridgefoot Environmental EnhancementWarrington
	East Kent Access Phase 1Kent
	Semington to MelkshamWiltshire
	NW Taunton PackageSomerset
	Cradley Heath Town CentreSandwell
	A53 Hodnet BypassShropshire
	Barford BypassWarwickshire
	Rugby Western BypassWarwickshire
	Biddulph Inner BypassStaffordshire
	Rugeley BypassStaffordshire
	Coalfields Link Road Phases 2 and 3Barnsley
	Glasshoughton Coalfields Link RoadWakefield.
	Of the 45 bids for new local major schemes for which bids were received this year, 15 have been provisionally accepted subject to the satisfactory completion of all remaining statutory procedures; the following 25 require further work before a decision can be reached:
	A165 Reighton BypassN. Yorkshire
	A171 Burniston/Cloughton BypassN. Yorkshire
	A19 Shipton/Beningbrough BypassN. Yorkshire
	A228 Leybourne and West Malling BypassKent
	A24 Horsham-Capel ImprovementW. Sussex
	A260 Hawkinge BypassKent
	A350 Westbury BypassWiltshire
	A36 Codford-Heytesbury ImprovementWiltshire
	A38/A390 Link DobwallsCornwall
	A391 CorridorCornwall
	A418 improvements inlcuding a Rowsham BypassBuckinghamshire
	A418 Wing BypassBuckinghamshire
	A57 Cadishead WaySalford
	A605 Stanground BypassPeterborough
	A61 Killingshall BypassN. Yorkshire
	A684 Leeming/Aiskew/Bedale BypassN. Yorkshire
	Ashton Northern Bypass (phase 2)Tameside
	Botley BypassHampshire
	Central RouteSunderland
	Chickenhall Lane Link RoadHampshire
	East Middlesbrough CorridorMiddlesbrough
	Northern Gateway Stage 2North Tyneside
	Roscommon Way ExtensionEssex
	Wylye Valley Relief RoadWiltshire
	A1 SE Northumberland Link Road (Central Section)Northumberland.
	The following four were rejected:
	A52 Grantham East-West BypassLincolnshire
	A182 East Durham Link RoadDurham
	Central Somerset Access PackageSomerset
	East Middlesbrough Transport CorridorMiddlesbrough.
	No decision has yet been announced on the following scheme which is being considered as part of the South East Manchester Multi Modal Study:
	Alderley Edge BypassCheshire.
	The following local authorities will receive the additional 10 million provided for road maintenance in 200203:
	Birmingham
	Wolverhampton
	Brighton and Hove
	Cheshire
	Isle of Wight
	Warwickshire
	Oldham
	East Riding of Yorkshire
	Coventry
	Thurrock
	Stockport
	Poole
	Bournemouth.

Rail Safety

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what discussions he has had with (a) the HSE, (b) Railtrack plc, (c) the administrator of his staff and (d) Mr. Alan Cooksey concerning issues of rail safety since Railtrack was put into administration.

David Jamieson: My officials have regular meetings with HSE, Railtrack plc and the administrator and his staff at which a variety of matters are discussed.

Road Schemes

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to fund by PFI (a) new and (b) existing major road schemes announced in the Local Transport Capital Settlement 200203.

David Jamieson: Local authorities are asked, as part of their Local Transport Plans, to examine whether individual major road schemes would be suitable for PFI procurement. Based on this information, the Department has identified a number of schemes which appear to be suitable for PFI procurement. In these cases, we expect each of the local authorities to evaluate whether the scheme would demonstrate better value for money as a PFI deal. Advice and assistance is available from the Department to help local authorities carry out this evaluation. Conventional funding would not be available as an alternative source of funding for schemes that demonstrate better value for money through PFI. At present, a number of existing schemes are undergoing, and new ones have been asked to carry out, such an evaluation. Final decisions on the most appropriate procurement route will be taken when those evaluations are complete.

Regeneration Projects, Islington

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the regeneration projects (a) wholly and (b) partly funded by the Government in Islington since May 1997, with the expenditure to date on each project by central Government.

Sally Keeble: Central Government expenditure to date on Islington regeneration schemes is as follows:
	
		 
		
			 Scheme Expenditure 
		
		
			 Single Regeneration Budget  
			 Futures Gateway 189,583 
			 Kings Cross 30,523,806 
			 Finsbury Park 4,365,254 
			 City Fringe 8,000,000 
			  
			 Total 43,078,643 
			   
			 New Deal for Communities  
			 200001 10,000 
			 200102 595,282 
			  
			 Total 605,282 
			   
			 Estates Action  
			 Prior to 200102 7,853,895 
			 200102 (4)504,844 
			  
			 Total (4)8,358,739 
			   
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund  
			 200102 386,828 
			   
			 Capital Challenge  
			 19972000 (4)9,500,0000 
			  
			 Grand total (4)61,548,219 
		
	
	(4) Estimate

Jo Moore

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will reply to the letter of 16 November from the hon. Member for Maidenhead regarding his special adviser Jo Moore.

Stephen Byers: I wrote to the hon. Member yesterday.

Ring-fenced Funds

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what funds allocated by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies are ring-fenced for specific purposes; and if he will list the allocations of funds involved.

Sally Keeble: All funds allocated by the Department and its executive agencies to recipients in the private, public and voluntary sectors are issued for specific purposes. However, recipients may have more or less flexibility over the use they make of those funds depending on the conditions of the payment regime.

Government Advisory Group for Motor Cycling

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the Government Advisory Group for Motor Cycling has been disbanded.

David Jamieson: No. The advisory group met on 13 November and the next meeting is to be arranged for the spring.

River Safety

Chris Pond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of Lord Justice Clarke's inquiry into the Marchioness and River Safety; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: On 29 November I announced that I had, that day, placed in the Libraries of the House an updated summary of the action taken on each of Lord Justice Clarke's 74 recommendations. Further updates will be placed in the Libraries at about six monthly intervals.

Multi-Modal Studies

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what measures are being taken to speed up delivery from multi-modal studies.

John Spellar: I have asked the Highways Agency, in consultation with the relevant study steering group and Government Office, to identify trunk road schemes which would benefit from additional work to support and inform the study and the subsequent decision-making process. In concert with the Government Office, statutory advisory bodies and regional partners, the Agency will carry out such additional work as may be required to establish these schemes' feasibility. Where the Regional Planning Body and the Secretary of State subsequently agree to progress a scheme, this approach will also facilitate entry to the national Targeted Programme of Improvements. We are working closely with the Strategic Rail Authority to ensure that consideration of rail schemes is similarly informed and robust and have asked steering groups and Government Offices to identify schemes that would benefit from early assessment. We are also encouraging steering groups to identify local transport schemes for which additional appraisal at an early stage would aid decision making.

Boundary Commission for Wales

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he intends to invite the members of the Boundary Commission for Wales to serve a second term; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Byers: I have today appointed, for a second term, Professor Kenneth George as a member of the Boundary Commission for Wales. His appointment is effective until 30 June 2005.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales has also today appointed, for a second term, Mrs. Susan Smith, as a member of the Boundary Commission for Wales. Mrs. Smith's appointment is also effective until 30 June 2005.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Police Numbers

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff there are (i) in total and (ii) for each police force in England and Wales at the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The tables show, for March 1997, September 2000, March 2001 and September 2001 total numbers of police officers and civilian staff for each police authority area in England and Wales, together with changes in numbers since March 1997 and September 2000.
	On 30 September 2001 total police numbers, including secondments, in England and Wales were 127,231 an increase of 2,645 or 2.1 per cent., compared with the end of September 2000. This is the largest annual increase in police numbers since 198081.
	Between 30 September 2000 and 30 September 2001 the number of civilian support staff increased by 2,788, or 5.2 per cent., to 56,644.
	In total, there were 183,875 police officers and civilian support staff compared with 180,169 in March 1997.
	The substantial investment we are putting into the police service is delivering the improvements that we promised. We are on track to meet our target of record police numbers by April 2002 and 130,000 officers by spring 2003.
	Following concern about the quality of data in previous police personnel statistics publications, we established a task force to review the data requirement. The report of the task force proposes a comprehensive revision to the current requirements on police personnel statistics. Following consultation with the police service we will implement the necessary changes from September 2002.
	
		Police strength -- Full-time equivalent
		
			  Strength ChangeNumber  
			  GOR/police force  31 March 1997  30 September 2000  31 March 2001  30 September 2001 March 1997 to September 2001 September 2000 to September 2001 
		
		
			 North East 6,597 6,820 6,859 6,927 330 107 
			 Cleveland 1,459 1,421 1,407 1,434 -25 13 
			 Durham 1,461 1,581 1,595 1,600 140 19 
			 Northumbria 3,677 3,818 3,857 3,893 216 75 
			
			 North West 17,588 17,110 17,296 17,514 -74 404 
			 Cheshire 2,046 2,000 2,002 2,021 -25 21 
			 Cumbria 1,144 1,048 1,048 1,075 -69 27 
			 Greater Manchester 6,922 6,767 6,909 7,036 114 269 
			 Lancashire 3,247 3,215 3,255 3,288 41 74 
			 Merseyside 4,230 4,081 4,081 4,095 -135 14 
			
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 11,750 11,189 11,234 11,463 -287 274 
			 Humberside 2,045 1,905 1,917 1,991 -54 86 
			 North Yorkshire 1,338 1,293 1,305 1,390 52 97 
			 South Yorkshire 3,159 3,184 3,197 3,223 64 39 
			 West Yorkshire 5,209 4,806 4,815 4,859 -350 53 
			
			 East Midlands 8,436 8,350 8,490 8,550 114 200 
			 Derbyshire 1,791 1,780 1,823 1,851 60 71 
			 Leicestershire 1,949 2,010 2,032 2,062 113 52 
			 Lincolnshire 1,196 1,162 1,202 1,184 -12 22 
			 Northamptonshire 1,177 1,166 1,157 1,180 3 14 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,323 2,232 2,275 2,273 -50 41 
			
			 West Midlands 12,290 12,324 12,429 12,474 184 150 
			 Staffordshire 2,211 2,157 2,129 2,119 -92 -38 
			 Warwickshire 926 912 926 930 4 18 
			 West Mercia 2,040 1,906 1,951 1,994 -46 88 
			 West Midlands 7,113 7,350 7,423 7,432 319 82 
			
			 Eastern 9,727 9,554 9,703 9,762 35 208 
			 Bedfordshire 1,094 1,006 1,036 1,050 -44 44 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,302 1,266 1,296 1,350 48 84 
			 Essex(5) 2,961 2,818 2,897 2,937 -24 119 
			 Hertfordshire(5) 1,759 1,961 1,922 1,843 84 -118 
			 Norfolk 1,432 1,387 1,420 1,436 4 49 
			 Suffolk 1,180 1,115 1,133 1,146 -34 31 
			
			 London 27,536 25,414 25,581 26,074 -1,462 660 
			 City of London 859 719 703 699 -160 -20 
			 Metropolitan police(5) 26,677 24,695 24,878 25,374 -1,303 679 
			
			 South East 15,111 15,349 15,381 15,378 267 29 
			 Hampshire 3,452 3,437 3,438 3,449 -3 12 
			 Kent 3,260 3,239 3,319 3,367 107 128 
			 Surrey(5) 1,620 2,113 2,066 2,018 398 -95 
			 Sussex 3,085 2,812 2,855 2,837 -248 25 
			 Thames Valley 3,695 3,748 3,703 3,708 13 -40 
			
			 South West 9,424 9,354 9,576 9,693 269 339 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,989 2,941 2,994 3,040 51 99 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,865 2,873 2,934 2,972 108 100 
			 Dorset 1,284 1,299 1,354 1,360 76 61 
			 Gloucestershire 1,133 1,142 1,173 1,169 36 27 
			 Wiltshire 1,154 1,099 1,120 1,152 -2 53 
			
			 Wales 6,592 6,738 6,927 7,134 542 396 
			 Dyfed Powys 1,005 1,045 1,055 1,098 94 53 
			 Gwent 1,243 1,271 1,274 1,303 60 32 
			 North Wales 1,369 1,393 1,444 1,491 122 98 
			 South Wales 2,976 3,029 3,154 3,241 265 212 
			 England and Wales(6) 125,051 122,203 123,476 124,969 -82 2,766 
			 Total secondments 2,107 2,383 2,206 2,261 154 -122 
			 Total(7) 127,158 124,586 125,682 127,231 73 2,645 
		
	
	(5) As of April 2000, the Metropolitan police force was reduced in size by transfer of responsibility for policing some areas to the surrounding forces of Surrey, Hertfordshire and Essex. These changes need to be borne in mind when comparing figures for these forces before and after April 2000.
	(6) Excluding secondments
	(7) Including secondments
	Note:
	Because of rounding, constituent parts may not necessarily sum to the totals
	
		Civilian staff (excluding traffic wardens) -- Full-time equivalent
		
			  Strength ChangeNumber  
			  GOR/police force  31 March 1997  30 September 2000  31 March 2001  30 September 2001 March 1997 to September 2001 September 2000 to September 2001 
		
		
			 North East 2,557 2,583 2,496 2,562 5 -21 
			 Cleveland 609 598 586 604 -5 6 
			 Durham 583 573 566 612 29 39 
			 Northumbria 1,365 1,413 1,344 1,346 -19 -67 
			
			 North West 6,267 7,007 7,066 7,394 1,127 387 
			 Cheshire 735 870 833 857 122 -13 
			 Cumbria 451 505 588 612 161 107 
			 Greater Manchester 2,612 2,845 2,858 3,027 415 182 
			 Lancashire 1,126 1,351 1,369 1,409 283 58 
			 Merseyside 1,343 1,437 1,418 1,489 146 52 
			
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4,762 4,923 4,939 5,221 459 298 
			 Humberside 718 783 808 802 84 19 
			 North Yorkshire 519 533 591 677 158 144 
			 South Yorkshire 1,291 1,399 1,312 1,446 156 47 
			 West Yorkshire 2,234 2,208 2,228 2,296 62 88 
			
			 East Midlands 3,555 4,039 3,855 3,914 359 -125 
			 Derbyshire 723 865 875 874 151 9 
			 Leicestershire 755 808 686 691 -64 -117 
			 Lincolnshire 521 554 561 581 60 27 
			 Northamptonshire 554 648 694 745 192 97 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,003 987 1,039 1,023 20 36 
			
			 West Midlands 4,819 5,132 5,261 5,463 644 331 
			 Staffordshire 763 897 935 950 188 53 
			 Warwickshire 376 388 412 428 52 40 
			 West Mercia 942 1,026 1,095 1,192 250 166 
			 West Midlands 2,739 2,821 2,819 2,893 155 72 
			 Eastern 4,234 4,699 4,802 5,097 863 398 
			 Bedfordshire 484 488 491 512 28 24 
			 Cambridgeshire 607 543 614 668 61 125 
			 Essex(8) 1,199 1,472 1,447 1,509 310 38 
			 Hertfordshire(8) 818 948 935 990 172 42 
			 Norfolk 603 651 694 759 156 108 
			 Suffolk 522 592 621 659 137 67 
			
			 London 13,840 10,382 10,273 10,469 -3,371 87 
			 City of London 347 235 233 229 -118 -6 
			 Metropolitan police(8) 13,493 10,147 10,040 10,240 -3,253 93 
			
			 South East 6,399 7,292 7,462 7,957 1,558 665 
			 Hampshire 1,316 1,467 1,424 1,507 191 40 
			 Kent 1,384 1,670 1,796 2,022 638 352 
			 Surrey(8) 727 865 897 957 230 92 
			 Sussex 1,149 1,405 1,454 1,506 357 101 
			 Thames Valley 1,825 1,890 1,891 1,965 140 75 
			
			 South West 4,122 4,581 4,715 4,951 829 370 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,438 1,437 1,452 1,531 93 94 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,159 1,391 1,453 1,516 357 125 
			 Dorset 615 681 682 721 106 40 
			 Gloucestershire 435 498 506 533 98 35 
			 Wiltshire 475 574 622 650 175 76 
			
			 Wales 2,455 2,686 2,706 2,829 374 143 
			 Dyfed Powys 322 393 401 438 116 45 
			 Gwent 452 490 537 564 112 74 
			 North Wales 476 511 498 559 84 48 
			 South Wales 1,206 1,293 1,270 1,268 63 -25 
			 England and Wales(9),(10) 53,011 53,147 53,573 55,856 2,845 2,709 
			 Total secondments n/a 708 765 789 n/a 81 
			 Total(10),(11) 53,011 53,856 54,338 56,644 3,633 2,788 
		
	
	(8) As of April 2000, the Metropolitan police force was reduced in size by a transfer of responsibility for policing some areas to the surrounding forces of Surrey, Hertfordshire and Essex. These changes need to be borne in mind when comparing figures for these forces before and after April 2000.
	(9) Excluding secondments
	(10) In the March 1997 figures, civilian secondments were counted within the civilian figures for the forces from which they were seconded. The increase in civilians between March 1997 and September 2001 take account of this.
	(11) Including secondments
	Note:
	Because of rounding, constituent parts may not necessarily sum to the totals

Terrorism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on plans to integrate (a) cultural exchanges with the Islamic world and (b) the Barcelona Process into the fight against terrorism.

Peter Hain: I have been asked to reply.
	We are working closely with the British Council, which is designated as our cultural arm overseas. The council has developed a programme called Open Minds, with proposals to build mutual understanding between young people of different cultures. These include school links and other youth exchanges, and networking between young professionals, future leaders and journalists. The project will focus initially on ten countries with large Muslim populations (Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia and Turkey). It will also involve Muslim communities in the UK.
	At the most recent Ministerial Meeting of the Barcelona Process, on 56 November, Ministers reiterated their condemnation of the terrorist attacks committed in the United States on 11 September. They underlined the importance of the Barcelona Process as an instrument for promoting a dialogue of equals between cultures and civilisations. Ministers agreed to work on deepening the existing dialogue between cultures and civilisations, focusing on youth, education and the media.

Terrorism

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the willingness of terrorists to commit suicidal acts to inflict substantial loss of life was taken into account in the drafting of the Terrorism Act 2000.

David Blunkett: Such acts are covered by the definition of terrorism in Part One of the Terrorism Act 2000. Following the attacks of September 11 we decided to take stock and review our laws to see where they might need further strengthening. The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill contains proportionate and targeted measures which will ensure and safeguard our way of life against those who would take our freedom away. The Bill takes account of the threat from those helping to organise, fund or facilitate global terrorist acts, including the structures and systems needed by those prepared to undertake suicide attacks.

Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he expects to receive the next report of the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851;
	(2)  if he will list the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851.

David Blunkett: holding answer 7 November 2001
	I have been informed by the Secretary of the Royal Commission of 1851 that they are no longer obliged to report to Government and have not done so since 1961. Any enquiries should be addressed directly to the Commission.

Neighbourhood Watch Scheme

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding was provided by central Government to the neighbourhood watch scheme in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The Home Office pays for the production of a range of neighbourhood watch publications, including a training manual for scheme co-ordinators. We also support neighbourhood watch training events. In addition we have this year made up to 80,000 available to ensure that the neighbourhood watch annual conference can go ahead.

PFI

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 24 October 2001, Official Report, column 288W, on PFI transactions, what is the (a) aggregate of cost savings estimated to have been made through PFI transactions overseen by his Department, (b) aggregate capital value of the PFI projects overseen by his Department and (c) individual capital value of each PFI project overseen by his Department in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: holding answer 13 November 2001
	The information is as follows:
	(a) The aggregate of cost savings estimated to have been made through PFI transactions overseen by this Department is 641.63 million.
	(b) and (c) from the best information available, the following table lists the capital value and aggregate value of PFI projects overseen by this Department in the last 10 years:
	
		 million 
		
			 Transaction/project title Capital value 
		
		
			 2001  
			 Rainsbrook (Onley) Secure Training Centre Expansion 5.6 
			 Heat Energy Services Tranche 2 12 
			   
			 2000  
			 HM Prison (HMP) Ryehill 37 
			 HMP Dovegate 64 
			 Quantum 60 
			 Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Not applicable 
			 IT2000 (Sirius Programme) 24.7 
			 Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP) (Airwave) 500 
			 1999 0 
			   
			 1998  
			 Rainsbrook (Onley) Secure Training Centre 7.4 
			 Hassockfield (Medomsley) Secure Training Centre 9.1 
			 HMP Forest Bank 45 
			 HMPS Heat Energy Services Tranche 1 8 
			 HM Young Offender Institution (HMYOI) Ashfield 26 
			 Passport Application Support SystemFront End 15 
			 Passport Application Support SystemBack End 15 
			   
			 1997  
			 Medway (Cookham Wood) Secure Training Centre 9.1 
			   
			 1996  
			 Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) Casework Programme 41 
			 HMP Parc 47 
			 HMP Lowdham Grange 25 
			   
			 1995  
			 HMP Altcourse 68 
			   
			 1994 0 
			 1993 0 
			 1992 0 
			  
			 Aggregate value 1,018.90

Police Patrols (Private Minibuses)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the number of occasions on which private minibuses have been hired for police patrol purposes; and what assessment he has made of the cost compared with that of using police vehicles.

John Denham: Decisions to deploy hired minibuses rather than other police vehicles for police patrol purposes are operational matters for Chief Officers.

Forensic Laboratories

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total funding by his Department for the national forensic laboratories in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: The Department does not subsidise the Home Office Forensic Science Service in England and Wales. Their income is generated through the services they provide to police forces, the Home Office, the Crown Prosecution Service and the other law enforcement agencies in England and Wales.
	The Forensic Science Service receives short-term loans from the Home Office, which are repaid within the same financial year. The Forensic Science Service has received the following aggregate short-term loans:
	19992000: 5.8 million
	200001: 2.5 million
	200102: 4.5 million.
	They also have a long-term trading fund loan of 17.92 million, which was made in March 2000 and is repayable over the next 25 years at commercial rates.

Asylum Applications

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of initial refusals of applications for asylum on the grounds of non-compliance were upheld on appeal for each of the last six months for which data exists.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is not available. Figures regarding the outcome of all asylum appeals (regardless of the type of refusal) are published on the Department's website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ rds/index.htm.
	We are continually seeking to expand the information which we are able to publish but we will only do so once we are confident in the data's reliability.

Assisted Prisoner Visits Unit

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the annual budget for the Assisted Prison Visits Unit in respect of visits to (a) British nationals and (b) foreign nationals; and under which vote the funds are provided.

Beverley Hughes: The assisted prison visits scheme for England and Wales exists to help prisoners maintain contact with their close family. To qualify for assistance the visitor must be in receipt of a low income or one of a number of benefits as set out in the rules of the scheme. Visitors who meet the qualifying criteria are eligible for assistance without regard to the nationality of the prisoner whom they wish to visit. The scheme provides financial assistance to meet the cost of visiting prisoners who are held in prisons in England and Wales but there are reciprocal arrangements in place with the prison services in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands.
	The opening budget for the assisted prison visits scheme for 200102 is 2.6 million. These funds are provided under Home Office Request for Resources 2 (RfR2): Protecting the public by holding prisoners in decent conditions and reducing re-offending after release.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for the number of offenders completing accredited programmes in the community.

Beverley Hughes: Encouraging progress has been made so far towards the Service Delivery Agreement target (30,000 offenders completing accredited offending behaviour programmes in the community by 200304including 6,000 drug-related programme completions).
	Nine offending behaviour programmes have been awarded full accreditation, and two have achieved provisional accreditation. All probation areas are now running accredited general offending programmes, and roll out of other accredited programmes is continuing. It is however too early to provide meaningful figures on the actual numbers of completions.

Board of Visitors Reports

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Board of Visitors annual reports for prisons in England and Wales for 2001 have been received by his Department.

Beverley Hughes: As of 11 December 2001, annual reports had been received from 44 Boards of Visitors. Since the reporting period each year is staggered, some of the reports for 2001 are not due before the end of March 2002.

High-risk Offenders

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for legislation to reduce the dangers posed to the public by people with a demonstrable history of high-risk offending.

Beverley Hughes: Making Punishments Work, the report of a review of the sentencing framework (and known as the Halliday Report), was published on 5 July. One of the key recommendations in the report is that prison sentences of 12 months or more for 'dangerous' (violent and sex) offenders should be subject to special provisions which provide for discretionary release, subject to risk assessment, from the halfway point until the end of the sentence, coupled with the possibility of extended supervision.
	We are currently analysing the responses to all the recommendations in the report with a view to formulating final proposals for legislation on a new framework for sentencing.
	We also recently published a review of Part One of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 (the register of sex offenders) for public consultation. The consultation period ended on 19 October and we are currently analysing the responses to its recommendations for strengthening the legislation.
	In addition, the Government plan to introduce new Mental Health legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows. This will provide a clear legal framework for the detention of those who pose a significant risk of serious harm to others as a result of a mental disorder, including a personality disorder.
	These proposals will build on earlier measures we have taken to improve public protection including: implementation of the Sex Offenders Act 1997; provisions in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for sex offender orders and extended supervision of sexual and violent offenders; and provisions in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 to ban unsuitable people working with children and to strengthen the Sex Offenders Act.

Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been sentenced under (a) section 109, (b) section 110 and (c) section 111 of the powers of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We have a record of 310 life sentences imposed under what is now section 109 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (PCC(S)A). We only have reliable figures for sentences imposed under what is now section 110 and 111 of the PCC(S)A for the period from December 1999 to June 2000. There were four offenders sentenced under section 110 for repeat drug offences. Current figures indicate that there have been no mandatory sentences imposed under what is now section 111 which deals with repeat burglars.

Prison Estate Services (Privatisation)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the inquiry into the scope for further privatisation of services within the prison estate; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: I am considering the review commissioned by my predecessor on the private finance initiative (PFI) and market-testing in the Prison Service conducted by Pat Carter. I expect to publish it shortly.

New Prisons

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for future contracts for new prisons to be agreed on the basis of private sector design and building and public sector management; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The only new programme currently planned are for prisons designed, constructed, managed and financed by the private sector at Peterborough and Ashford. Any requirement for new prisons beyond these will be for discussion in the current spending review.

Probation Service

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to put to tender local probation service facilities; and what consultation has taken place with employers and employees concerning such reform.

Beverley Hughes: There is currently a phased procurement exercise taking place to put to tender National Probation Service facilities management functions on a property division basis. Consultation has taken place and will continue to do so, with employers and staff, including trades unions and employers groups.

Probation Service

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the criteria used are in assessing whether local probation services facilities should be the subject of tendering; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Facilities Management Services to be subjected to tendering are to be selected on the basis of those assessed as having the potential to provide better value for money. With the creation of a national service on 1 April 2001 there is greater need for consistency in service delivery and the opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of probation services through benefiting from economies of scale.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what preparations he has made to accommodate suspected international terrorists in the event of legislation before the House being enacted; which prisons and other buildings have been identified for use; which body has been tasked to prepare the administration of accommodation for suspected international terrorists in detention; what arrangements have been made to provide separate secure accommodation for (a) women and (b) persons under 18 years of age; what security regime will be put in place at these institutions; what arrangements are being made for suspected international terrorists (i) to receive visitors and (ii) to maintain family relations; what preparations he has made to allow those in detention to practise their religion and to meet their dietary requirements; and what special training he has established to prepare prison officers to treat detainees in accordance with international best practice.

Beverley Hughes: The Prison Service will be responsible for the safe and secure custody of any such detainees. We have identified suitable secure facilities within the Prison Service Estate. Prison Service rules will apply in respect of all aspects of the detention.

Northumbria Police

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were in post in the Northumbria police area in (a) May 1997, (b) September 2001 and (c) each reporting period in between.

John Denham: The information requested is set out in the table. Police numbers information is collected in March and September. Police strength figures for September 2001 are not yet available but Northumbria police have provided officer numbers for August 2001.
	
		Full-time equivalent 
		
			  Police strength in Northumbria Civilian support staff 
		
		
			 March 1997 3,677 1,365 
			 September 1997 3,689 1,385 
			 March 1998 3,769 1,362 
			 September 1998 3,802 1,430 
			 March 1999 3,840 1,443 
			 September 1999 3,800 1,482 
			 March 2000 3,788 1,417 
			 September 2000 3,818 1,413 
			 March 2001 3,857 1,416 
			 September 2001 3,908 n/a 
		
	
	Source:
	Home Office Statistical BulletinsPolice Service Strength 19972001 (March and September figures)
	Northumbria police has set a budgeted workforce total for 31 March 2002 of 4,000 officers.

Policing (Merseyside)

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding has been allocated for policing in Merseyside in each year since 1997, broken down into budget headings.

John Denham: The amount of funding allocated for policing in Merseyside is as follows.
	
		Annual police settlements --  million
		
			  Police grant Revenue support grant National non domestic rates Total Government funding 
		
		
			 199798 113.6 65.8 28.1 207.5 
			 199899 119.1 66.5 27.6 213.2 
			 19992000 118.7 67.1 29.5 215.3 
			 200001 122.2 65.9 32.6 220.7 
			 200102 126.7 70.3 32.2 229.2 
		
	
	
		Crime fighting fund
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200001 1.6 
			 200102 (12)5.0 
		
	
	(12) It is expected that the force will receive this amount in respect of 124 Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) recruits from 200001 and a further 93 new CFF recruits projected for 200102
	Capital
	Under present arrangements, capital grant is paid to police authorities. Grant also continues to be paid towards the annual loan charges on capital sums borrowed under earlier grant rules.
	
		 million 
		
			  Capital grant Loan charges grant 
		
		
			 199798 3.8 0.48 
			 199899 2.3 0.34 
			 19992000 2.0 0.35 
			 200001 2.5 0.32 
			 200102 2.3 (13)0.29 
		
	
	(13) Provisional
	Individual Payments
	Home Office accounts records show that the force has also received the following individual payments:
	
		
			  Purpose  
		
		
			 August 1997 Police Firearms grant 66,556 
			 August 1999 Police Beacon scheme 83,000 
			 March 2000 Police Beacon scheme 8,880 
			 October 2000 Anti-robbery grant 1,800,000 
			 December 2000 Execution of warrants 145,987 
			 March 2001 National Fuel Distribution Emergency (14)320,939 
			 July 2001 National Intelligence Model 115,800 
		
	
	(14) A further estimated 36,000 will be paid in 200102, subject to audit of claims
	Crime Reduction Programme
	Under the Crime Reduction Programme over 10 million has been allocated since 1999 to Crime and Disorder Reduction partnerships for projects in Merseyside.

Departmental Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much of the 11 million allocated for running costs and service development work in 200102 in respect of new places in the Prison Service High Security estate has been reallocated to other key Home Office priorities.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 13 December 2001
	The initial allocation in 200102 for running costs and service development was 11 million. This figure was necessarily an estimated projection of likely spend for the year because of the ground-breaking nature of this work. Project spend is carefully monitored and regular forecasting exercises are carried out.
	Latest projections show that 5.67 million will be spent within this financial year, and 5.33 million reallocated to other key Home Office priorities.

Police (North Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed in North Wales in each of the last 10 years; and how many he estimates will be employed over the next five years.

John Denham: The historic information requested is set out in the table. At 31 March 2001 North Wales police numbers were at record levels. In addition, North Wales police employed 498 civilian support staff at 31 March 2001.
	
		
			 Year as at 31 March Police officers in post(15) 
		
		
			 1991 1,349 
			 1992 1,347 
			 1993 1,360 
			 1994 1,352 
			 1995 1,366 
			 1996 1,378 
			 1997 1,369 
			 1998 1,396 
			 1999 1,391 
			 2000 1,403 
			 2001 1,444 
			 2002(16) 1,506 
			 2003(16) 1,529 
		
	
	(15) Full time equivalents
	(16) Estimate
	The Chief Constable of North Wales police has provided the estimates for 2002 and 2003, but is unable to make an estimate for later years.

Fingerprinting

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many errors in fingerprint identification have been discovered in (a) the UK and (b) the Greater Manchester area in the last five years.

John Denham: This information is not collated nationally.
	During the last five years over 75,000 crime scene submissions have been received in the Greater Manchester Police Fingerprint Unit, which have produced nearly 19,000 identifications. In the last five years, two cases in which a person who was incorrectly identified.
	Greater Manchester Police Fingerprint Unit has an excellent reputation and performance record and has taken all practical steps to mitigate the risk of any further occurrences.

Terrorist Prison Sentences

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are serving a prison sentence (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in Northern Ireland for acts of terrorism.

Beverley Hughes: The number of people serving a prison sentence in the United Kingdom for acts of terrorism is not held centrally. If a person commits an act of terrorism, they are generally charged and convicted of an offence relating to the effect that the act has had. For example, if people are killed as a result, the prisoner is likely to be convicted of murder.
	The latest figures show that between 1 January 2000 and 18 February 2001, 46 people were detained in Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 of whom 26 were subsequently charged with an offence. Nine were charged with an offence under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and 17 were charged with other offences (14 for kidnapping, including hijackings). Further information is contained within the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 'Statistics on the Operation of Prevention of Terrorism Legislation', 16/01, Great Britain 2001. This bulletin is available at the web address: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hosb1601.pdf
	The request for information on prisoners in Northern Ireland should be directed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Anti-crime Strategies (The Elderly)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what strategies are in place to protect the elderly from becoming the victims of burglary and violent crime; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: holding answer 3 December 2001
	The Government's Crime Reduction Strategy, which was published in November 1999, set out what we are doing to tackle various crimes including domestic burglary. Our publication Fighting violent crime together: an action plan sets out what we are doing to tackle violent crime. Neither is specifically targeted at elderly victims; crime statistics show that the elderly are generally at lower risk of victimisation. However, various initiatives have been aimed specifically at preventing elderly people becoming victims of these types of crime including:
	A number of projects under the Reducing Burglary Initiative (part of the Crime Reduction Programme) with interventions specifically addressing burglary against the elderly.
	Over 2 million allocated to three projects specifically designed to combat distraction burglary, which primarily affects the elderly, and a further 1 million for the work of the distraction burglary task force.
	A home security scheme for pensioners, which provides security checks and, where needed, additional security measures for eligible pensioners.
	Home Office publicity on crime prevention contains detailed advice to help the elderly reduce the risk of burglary, including burglary by fraudulent callers.
	The Government approach to tackling violent crime includes:
	providing the police with resources in terms of manpower and modern technology to enable them to develop more efficient intelligence-led policing and problem orientated policing;
	more effective punishment, through the creation of a new sentencing structure;
	dealing with the root causes of violent crime by looking at measures to divert young people from crime;
	giving the courts new community disposals to curtail offending behaviour at an early stage;
	the Crime Reduction expenditure includes Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) schemes to improve personal safety in public areas.

Charity Check

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will withhold grants to charities which do not comply with good practice as laid down by Charity Check.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 3 December 2001
	No. Charity Check is self-appointed to the role it aims to play in the control of fundraising. The Charity Commission is the regulatory body for charities and in the case of collections being made for charitable purposes the Commission has powers under the Charities Act 1993 to look into instances where it appears that funds raised for charitable causes may be at risk.

Police Service (Devon and Cornwall)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations were closed in Devon and Cornwall, in each year since 1997; and what plans he has to help rural communities benefit from locally-based police.

John Denham: I understand from the chief constable that the numbers of police stations closed in Devon and Cornwall since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			 Year  Number 
		
		
			 199697 5 
			 199798 4 
			 199899 3 
			 19992000 4 
			 200001 0 
			 1 April to 22 November 2001 0 
		
	
	Police authorities are now required to undertake public consultation before closure of police stations in their area.
	The Government fully recognise the special needs of rural policing, and the demands of delivering a high quality service to communities with a low population density. 15 million was made available in 200001 to enhance the policing service in rural areas. Financial provision for future years has been included in the SR2000 settlement. Forces that police sparsely populated areas benefit from a further 30 million in 200102, and similar provision exists for 200203 and 200304.
	Devon and Cornwall was allocated more than 1.5 million Rural Funding in 200001, and 3.1 million for the current year. These sums are greater than the allocations to any other force area.Police authorities which are allocated a share of the fund are required to publish a statement in their Annual/Best Value Policing Plans on how the money has been, and will be, spent.
	In addition, the White Paper Policing a New Century, published on 5 December, set out plans for increasing the accessibility of the police service to the public.

Rough Sleepers Unit

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what communications (a) his Department and (b) affiliated organisations have had in the last four years with the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions and the Rough Sleepers Unit concerning rough sleeping headcounts in London.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 10 December 2001
	Regular contact is made between officials, but I am not aware of specific communication over the rough sleeping headcounts. I am also aware that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has met with Louise Casey.

Prison Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the range and provision of education to prison inmates; and what type of work is made available in prisons.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 10 December 2001
	All prisons must provide a core curriculum of basic skills, life and social skills and information technology skills. The main thrust of education in prisons is to provide opportunities for offenders to attain a range of nationally recognised qualifications up to level 2, which will enhance their employability on release. We are encouraging the integration of basic skills across prison regimes in areas such as physical education, kitchens, vocational training (VT) workshops and arts and crafts classes. Provision is also made for those with higher levels of ability, for example through distance learning.
	Prisoners are employed in a range of work-related activities which include: industry workshops supplying goods and services for the Prison Service and outside commercial contractors and catering, cleaning, works and garden parties providing services within each establishment. Industries and training workshops offer prisoners opportunities to learn job skills and to achieve nationally recognised qualifications, such as NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) and construction awards. VT courses cover a wide range of learning areas such as, catering, industrial cleaning, construction skills, motor mechanics, engineering, hairdressing, and manufacturing.

Correspondence

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letters of 14 August and 3 October from the hon. Member for Putney on behalf of his constituent Ms Saeeda Dualeh Jibril (Ref. O 128662).

Angela Eagle: holding answer 26 November 2001
	I wrote to my hon. Friend on 18 December 2001. I am extremely sorry for the delay in replying.

Travellers

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent guidance he has issued to police forces on the handling of travellers and traveller encampments.

John Denham: holding answer 10 December 2001
	The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) provides operational guidance to police forces on powers to direct travellers or other trespassers to leave land when the appropriate statutory requirements are met. The guidance is kept under regular review.
	Research has been conducted to review the effectiveness of the current Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR)/Home Office Good Practice Guidance on Managing Unauthorised Camping. A summary of the findings was published by the DTLR on 2 November and a copy placed in the Library.

Blantyre House

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if the report on allegations of bullying at Blantyre House will be published before the end of the year;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) prison service officials, (b) inmates and (c) former staff interviewed as part of the investigation into allegations of bullying at Blantyre House; and on what dates they were interviewed.

Beverley Hughes: I am unable to provide a list of the people interviewed as part of this investigation. This is because all witnesses are assured that their participation in, and any information resulting from, interviews during the course of a prison service disciplinary inquiry is treated in the strictest confidence. However, these allegations are being thoroughly investigated. The report into allegations of bullying will be completed by the end of the year and submitted to the commissioning authority in the new year. It is not intended to publish the report.

Blantyre House

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget was for education at Blantyre House in (a) 2001 and (b) the preceding three years.

Beverley Hughes: The education budget for Blantyre House for the period 1997 to 2001 was:
	
		 
		
			 Period Total 
		
		
			 199899(17) 164,000 
			 19992000(17) 204,775 
			 200001(17) 197,820 
			 200102(18) 170,000 
		
	
	(17) Actual spend
	(18) Projected budget
	During the period 1999 to 2000 the actual spend included one-off provision of information technology equipment for a new course.

Blantyre House

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours were spent by inmates at Blantyre House in colleges of further education outside the prison in 2001; and what the figures were in (a) 2000 and (b) 1999.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested can only be collected by manual collation of the data from prisoner records and databases and would be at a disproportionate cost. However, 21 prisoners at Blantyre House attended college in 19992000, 12 attended in 200001, and eight are attending in 200102. Details of hours spent by these prisoners on courses at further education colleges is not collected.

Blantyre House

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many resignations there have been by members of staff at Blantyre House in the last 12 months; and if he will list them.

Beverley Hughes: One member of staff, a plant attendant, resigned and was re-engaged as an Operational Support Grade. There have been no other resignations of Prison Service in the last twelve months. Teaching staff are provided under contract by the Kent Adult Education Service. During the last twelve months one full time tutor and one sessional tutor provided to Blantyre House under this contract have resigned from their employment.

Blantyre House

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio of short-term to long-term inmates at Blantyre House is; and what the ratio was in (a) 2000 and (b) 1999.

Beverley Hughes: Blantyre House only accepts prisoners with a minimum length of four years, and all its prisoners are therefore classified as long-term. This was also the case in 1999 and 2000.
	It may be, however, that the hon. Member is interested in any change in periods prisoners have left to serve when coming to Blantyre House. To maximise the numbers of prisoners who can benefit from the resettlement opportunities available at Blantyre House, the establishment is now accepting prisoners with a minimum of two years left to serve, which is shorter than was formerly the case. In order to maintain a balance in the population, however, the number of life sentence prisoners held there is being increased. Historical data on the lengths of sentence remaining to prisoners at Blantyre House are not available.

Police Funding

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the percentage change in funding allocation to each police authority per head of resident population in each police authority between 200102 and 200203.

John Denham: holding answer 10 December 2001
	The percentage change in provisional grant allocation for 200203 compared with 200102 to each police authority per head of resident population is given in the table. Grant allocation includes Home Office Police Grant, Revenue Support Grant (from DTLR), National Non Domestic Rates, Crime Fighting Fund allocations and, where applicable, rural policing fund grants. The 200203 allocations given here are provisional.
	In 200203 the costs for National Crime Squad/National Criminal Intelligence Service will be paid directly from the centre rather than by the previous system of levies on police authorities. To provide a realistic comparison of funding for 200203 against 200102 provision for the NCS and NCIS levy has been deducted from the total allocation for 200102.
	Resident population is one of a number of indicators used in the calculation of the police funding formula. Details of the indicators and their relative value in determining the allocation for individual forces are set out in The Provisional Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 200203, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	
		
			 Police force Grant funding per head 200102 () Grant funding per head 200203 () Percentage change 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 100.55 105.03 4.46 
			 Bedfordshire 101.29 106.24 4.89 
			 Cambridgeshire 93.75 97.33 3.82 
			 Cheshire 99.69 104.23 4.56 
			 City of London n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cleveland 141.32 147.03 4.04 
			 Cumbria 114.95 119.21 3.71 
			 Derbyshire 96.27 101.56 5.49 
			 Devon and Cornwall 100.17 105.32 5.14 
			 Dorset 85.83 89.48 4.26 
			 Durham 127.10 131.96 3.83 
			 Dyfed Powys 102.47 107.16 4.57 
			 Essex 92.13 96.54 4.80 
			 GLA all functions 261.31 275.43 5.40 
			 Gloucestershire 98.94 103.29 4.40 
			 Greater Manchester 139.38 145.77 4.58 
			 Gwent 116.74 121.90 4.42 
			 Hampshire 98.50 103.75 5.33 
			 Hertfordshire 92.30 97.04 5.14 
			 Humberside 120.67 124.28 2.99 
			 Kent 107.87 112.09 3.91 
			 Lancashire 116.96 121.86 4.19 
			 Leicestershire 100.51 105.13 4.60 
			 Lincolnshire 92.50 96.21 4.01 
			 Merseyside 162.87 168.27 3.32 
			 Norfolk 96.95 102.25 5.47 
			 North Yorkshire 91.81 95.88 4.44 
			 Northamptonshire 96.02 99.68 3.81 
			 Northumbria 143.05 147.73 3.27 
			 North Wales 106.86 111.02 3.90 
			 Nottinghamshire 114.20 117.92 3.25 
			 South Wales 122.54 128.64 4.98 
			 South Yorkshire 125.13 129.17 3.22 
			 Staffordshire 96.58 100.12 3.67 
			 Suffolk 92.72 96.47 4.05 
			 Surrey 77.04 79.63 3.36 
			 Sussex 96.94 101.43 4.62 
			 Thames Valley 93.91 98.48 4.87 
			 Warwickshire 92.21 95.42 3.48 
			 West Mercia 90.12 93.65 3.92 
			 West Midlands 139.62 144.64 3.59 
			 West Yorkshire 128.84 133.40 3.54 
			 Wiltshire 93.84 97.36 3.75 
		
	
	Note:
	1. The Corporation of the City of London have grants calculated as a local authority with wider functions than police. The principal police grant is given in the Provisional Police Grant Report.

Gulf War (Detentions)

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 21 November 2001, Official Report, column 350W, on detentions, how many of the (a) Iraqis and (b) Palestinians detained during the Gulf War were compensated.

Angela Eagle: No Iraqis or Palestinians have been paid compensation for their detention during the Gulf War.
	An out of court settlement of 20,000 was made in the case of one Iraqi, who sued the Home Office for damages for false imprisonment.

Public Bodies

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those public bodies which are the responsibility of his Department and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 333W.

Recidivism

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to collect and publish information on reoffending rates by penal institution.

Beverley Hughes: Reoffending rates are not normally measured as they rely on the self-reporting of offending by offenders. Such an approach can lead to questions over the reliability of data based on individuals' recollection and willingness to impart their offending behaviour to an official source.
	Reconviction rates for all prisoners are published annually in Prison Statistics England and Wales, copies of which are available in the Library.
	It is not appropriate, as a matter of routine, to publish reconviction rates by establishment. This is because the data source which enables prison reconviction rates to be measured only identifies the establishment from which an offender is finally discharged; a prisoner may have spent the majority of their time in custody in other establishments. The number of offenders finally discharged from individual establishments can be so small that any results produced would not be statistically robust.

Child Pornography

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is taking to tackle child pornography on the internet.

Beverley Hughes: The Government are committed to tackling child pornography on the internet. We are determined to ensure that there are effective measures to combat this exploitation of children. In January 2001 we raised the maximum penalties for taking, making, distributing or showing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children to 10 years (from three years), and the maximum penalty for simple possession of such material to five years (from six months).
	We have made substantial investment in law enforcement to enhance the capability of the police to investigate serious and organised crime committed via computers or computer networks, such as the internet. In April, the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit was established, within the National Crime Squad, to investigate or support the investigation of such serious criminal activity, including the production and distribution of child pornography.
	In March, a task force on child protection on the internet was established to identify and implement the best ways in which children can be better protected when using the internet. Within the task force, Government, industry, the police and the children's charities have come together to, among other things, scope new legislative measures specifically to tackle 'grooming' of children by paedophiles online (and offline).
	We support the work of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which was set up in 1996 by internet service providers to enable members of the public, via a hotline, to report child pornography and other potentially illegal material in a newsgroup or website. If the material is considered illegal, the foundation passes details to the United Kingdom police to initiate action against the originators and asks British internet service providers (ISPs) to deny access to the sites concerned. If the originators are abroad, the foundation passes the report to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) who liaise with the enforcement agencies of the countries concerned. Since it was established, the IWF has asked United Kingdom internet service providers to remove nearly 30,000 illegal items from the internet.
	Internationally, the Government actively support efforts within the European Union, and more widely, to combat child pornography on the internet. In November, we signed the Council of Europe convention on cybercrime, which will underpin co-operative action between signatory states in respect of computer-related crimes, including the making, distribution and possession of child pornography.

Internet Chat Rooms

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is taking to raise public awareness of the dangers of children being targeted by paedophiles using internet chat rooms.

Beverley Hughes: On 3 December the Government launched a 1.5 million advertising campaign to deliver clear and consistent messages to internet users so they can enjoy the massive benefits of the internet in safety.
	The campaign is split in two discrete but complementary campaigns. One aimed at parents of 11 to 14-year-olds has begun. The other, aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds, starts in early January 2002. The whole campaign will run until March.
	The parents campaign started on 3 December with press advertisements in the national press and women's weekly magazines. The adverts explain the benefits of the internet and offer advice to parents on how to help their children chat safely online. Parents who want further information can call the UKonline centre (0800 77 1234) for a booklet about chatrooms or download the leaflet online by visiting www.wiseuptothenet.co.uk.
	The campaign for young people will involve cinema, radio, online and teen press advertising. A dedicated website (www.thinkuknow.co.uk) will provide further information and advice.
	The campaign was initiated by the task force on child protection on the internet. Created by the Home Secretary in March this year, the task force is a partnership of Government, industry, police and charitable organisations working together to tackle the danger posed to children by online paedophiles. It has two simple but ambitious aims: to make the United Kingdom the best and safest place in the world for children to use the internet; and to help protect children the world over from abuse fuelled by criminal misuse of new technologies.

Crime Reduction Funding

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give (a) the reasons for the projected change in net provision of money for police and crime reduction in 200102, (b) details of those areas of action which have received less funding than was provided for at the commencement of financial year 200102 and (c) examples of measures which are funded under Request for Resources 1-A.

John Denham: holding answer 10 December 2001
	The projected change in net provision of 23,746,000 for policing and crime reduction in 200102 arises from:
	the transfer of provision to other parts of the Home Office and to other government departments that administer policing, crime reduction and anti-drugs initiatives on behalf of the Home Office's Policing and Crime Reduction Group;
	the uptake of End Year Flexibility in respect of the Crime Reduction Programme and the Confiscated Assets Fund;
	the transfer from the Cabinet Office to the Home Office in June 2001 of responsibility for the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordination Unit; and
	a transfer of provision from the Prison Service in support of police scientific development work.
	The projected change in net provision for policing and crime reduction does not represent a reduction of available funding for any particular initiative, but rather a transfer of provision to areas undertaking these initiatives.
	Request for Resources 1-A is intended to meet the cost of delivering a wide range of policing, crime reduction and anti-drugs initiatives. Examples include:
	the recruitment and training of police officers under the Crime Fighting Fund;
	Crime Reduction Programme funding to trial the effectiveness of a range of crime reduction initiatives;
	the expansion of the database of DNA samples.

Publicity Campaigns

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total costs to date are of publicity campaigns for (a) police recruitment and (b) vehicle crime prevention.

John Denham: holding answer 10 December 2001
	The total costs to date for the police recruitment and vehicle crime reduction publicity campaigns are as follows:
	200001
	Police 7.35 million
	Vehicle crime reduction 8.67 million
	April 2001 to date
	Police 4.78 million
	Vehicle crime reduction 4.26 million.

Resource Allocation

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give (a) the reasons for the projected change in net provision of money for criminal policy and programmes in 200102, (b) details of those areas of action which have received less funding than was provided for at the commencement of financial year 200102 and (c) examples of measures which are funded under Request for Resources B1.

John Denham: holding answer 10 December 2001
	(a) Reasons for the changes are set out in Command Paper 5514 Home Office Winter Supplementary Estimates, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
	(b) No areas of action funded under B1 have received less funding than was provided for at the commencement of the current financial year other than for the reasons set out at (a) above. However underspends in these areas may be redirected to other priority areas later in the current financial year.
	(c) The principal activities funded under B1 are the National Probation Service, and the administration costs of the units that comprise Criminal Policy Group.

Blakenhurst Prison

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contract price was agreed by the Prison Service when the public sector took over HMP Blakenhurst at Redditch; and what additional sums have since been agreed.

Beverley Hughes: The year one price for the Service Level Agreement (SLA) at Blakenhurst prison is 10,143,844. The additional annual costs that have since been agreed amount to 58,000. There will also be a payment of 166,000 per year to cover Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment regulations (TUPE) costs for the first three years of the SLA.

Asylum Seekers

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 5 November 2001, Official Report, column 84W, on asylum seekers, what categories of data to be stored on the microchip on the asylum seeker's identification card were added after 5 November.

Angela Eagle: The list we provided earlier has been subjected to change. Discussions are still continuing in order to conclude a final list. Once this has been agreed, I will place a copy in the Library.

Asylum Seekers

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bed spaces the Landmark company is contracted to provide for asylum seekers.

Angela Eagle: I regret that I am unable to supply this information on the grounds that details of individual contracts between National Asylum Support Service and its suppliers are commercial in confidence.

Asylum Seekers

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department concluded the last contract with the Landmark company in respect of asylum seekers; and which properties this was in respect of.

Angela Eagle: The National Asylum Support Service has a single contract with the Landmark company for five years effective from 3 April 2000. I am unable to disclose precise details of the properties involved as there is a need to protect and preserve rights to privacy and security of the individuals living in accommodation provided by Landmark.

Asylum Seekers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the administrative costs of the policy of dispersing asylum seekers were.

Angela Eagle: In the period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 the administrative costs of National Asylum Support Service (NASS) were 15.6 million 1 . In addition, grants totalling 14 million 1 were paid to voluntary sector organisations by NASS to recognise their role in the dispersal scheme. These figures include start-up costs for NASS.
	1 Figures rounded to the nearest 0.1 million.

International Development Foundation

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the Charity Commission investigation into the International Development Foundation.

Angela Eagle: This is a matter for the Charity Commission who will write to my hon. Friend. A copy of the Commission's reply will be placed in the Library.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Permanent Secretaries

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the merits of recruiting from the private sector to fill vacancies at permanent secretary level.

Christopher Leslie: Like any organisation, the civil service benefits from people coming in at all levels. Since the beginning of 1999 well over half of the vacancies at permanent secretary level have gone to open competition and a number of external appointments have been made.
	It takes an outstanding individual to come in at the very top of any organisation without previous experience of that sector. There is, however, an increased use of open competition at other levels in the senior civil service, which should broaden the future field of permanent secretary candidates. Last year 202 SCS posts were advertised, and almost two-thirds were won by candidates from outside the civil service.

Civil Service Code

Michael Fallon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints have been reported under paragraph 11 of the civil service code since 13 May 1999; how many of these related to special advisers; and how many have been reported to the civil service commissioners under paragraph 12 of the code.

Christopher Leslie: Information on the number of complaints made within Departments under paragraph 11 of the civil service code is not held centrally. However, information on appeals made under paragraph 12 of the civil service code are set out in the annual report of the civil service commissioners. A copy of the commissioners' latest annual report for the year 200001 is in the Library of the House.

Devolved Administrations

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have to publish a revised edition of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved Administrations.

John Prescott: I am publishing today as Cm 5240 a revised edition of the Memorandum of Understanding and supplementary agreements between the UK Government, Scottish Ministers, the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee. Copies of this document have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and will be made available on the Cabinet Office website shortly.

Government Car Service

Richard Burden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list, by manufacturer and country of manufacture, the composition of the Government Car Service fleet for (a) 199495, (b) 199596, (c) 199697, (d) 199798, (e) 199899, (f) 19992000 and (g) 200001.

Christopher Leslie: The Government Car and Despatch Agency's fleet composition for 19992000 and 200001 is as follows:
	
		
			 Manufacturer Number(19) Number(20) Country of manufacture 
		
		
			 Rover 44 35 United Kingdom 
			 Jaguar 12 15 United Kingdom 
			 Ford 98 77 Belgium 
			  3 3 Portugal 
			  15 24 United Kingdom 
			 Vauxhall 65 67 Germany 
			  6 7 United Kingdom 
			 Nissan 5 8 United Kingdom 
			 Total 248 236  
		
	
	(19) Year end 2000
	(20) Year end 2001
	The Government Car and Despatch Agency was formed in April 1997. Information on fleet composition by country of manufacture is available only for years 19992000 and 200001. Information for earlier years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were employed in his Department in each of the last four years.

Christopher Leslie: The numbers of staff in all Departments are shown in Table C of Civil Service Statistics 2000, published on 31 August 2001. Copies are in the Libraries of the House.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Government Bills (Human Rights)

Mark Fisher: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will provide more specific information about the consideration given to human rights issues by Government Bills.

Michael Wills: Yes. The Government have agreed changes to the relevant guidance so that the explanatory notes of all Government Bills first introduced after 1 January 2002 will draw attention to the main Convention issues raised by a Bill. I hope that this will further assist the House in its debates on these matters.

Public Guardianship Office

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what additional key performance targets have been agreed for the Public Guardianship Office.

Rosie Winterton: Two additional key performance targets for the Public Guardianship Office have been agreed as follows:
	1. to achieve 75 per cent. effective visits by March 2002; and
	2. to achieve a unit cost per case of not more than 425.

Legal Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the size is of the eligibility package for legal aid for (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; and when it will take effect.

Rosie Winterton: Changes to the financial conditions for public funding were implemented on 3 December 2001 and will apply to new cases from that date. The cost of this package is 2.5 million this year (200102) and 10 million for 200203. We estimate that an additional 5 million people will become eligible to obtain publicly funded advice and assistance.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Monument Oil

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with representatives of Monument Oil in the last 12 months.

Brian Wilson: None. Monument Oil was taken over by Lasmo in 1999 and Lasmo have themselves since been taken over by Eni.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what proportion of letters received by her Department between 20 June and 20 July were replied to (a) in under 15, (b) in under 20, (c) in under 30, (d) in under 40 and (e) in over 40 working days.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 3 December 2001
	Information on the volume of correspondence from Members of Parliament received by ministerial agency chief executives, and Departments and agencies and performance in handling them is published annually by the Cabinet Office. The most recent report, covering 2000, was announced by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office on 6 April 2001, Official Report, column 325W.
	Figures broken down in percentages of replies within each of the specified timescales are unavailable, however my Department monitors its performance annually by sample for all correspondence (excluding ministerial) against the Whitehall standard to answer all correspondence within 15 working days. The latest figure available is for 200001 when the department answered 95 per cent. of correspondence within this target. The volume of correspondence was estimated to be 81,726.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many, and what proportion of letters received by the Department from right hon. and hon. Members between 20 June and 20 July were replied to in (a) under 15, (b) under 20, (c) under 30, (d) under 40 and (e) over 40 working days.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 10 December 2001
	936 letters were received by this Department from right hon. and hon. Members between 20 June and 20 July. The proportion of letters replied to in (a) under 15, (b) under 20, (c) under 30, (d) under 40 and (e) over 40 working days were as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
		
		
			 Under 15 65.96 
			 Under 20 71.61 
			 Under 30 84.04 
			 Under 40 89.41 
			 Over 40 100

Manufacturing Advisory Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many local firms are involved in the Manufacturing Advisory Service in Portsmouth, South.

Nigel Griffiths: The Manufacturing Advisory Service will be formally launched in spring 2002.
	In October this year, SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) awarded a three-year contract to the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) (South) to establish a regional centre for manufacturing excellence (RCME). The RCME will be responsible for delivering the MAS in the south-east, forming a strong partnership with the six Business Links in the south-east region. A full-time MAS professional manufacturing consultant will be attached to each of the Business Links to provide a range of information, advice, diagnostic and manufacturing consultancy support to businesses in the south-east.

Combined Heat and Power

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many combined heat and power schemes are under construction.

Brian Wilson: Information on the number of schemes under construction is not readily available. However, in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2001, chapter 6, details are given of schemes that had received consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 and section 14 of the Energy Act 1976 but were not in commercial operation at the time of publication. Only schemes over 10 MWe need consent from the Secretary of State. The information will be updated in July 2002. It is understood that a large portion of consented capacity is not likely to proceed at the present time, or may be built, but will be much smaller than the consented capacity.

Law of the Sea

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she plans to consult the (a) Executive of the National Assembly for Wales, (b) Scottish Executive and (c) Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly prior to the Government's submission to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea by 17 December;
	(2)  what plans she has for discussions with the (a) Executive of the National Assembly of Wales, (b) Scottish Executive, (c) Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly, (d) Government of Iceland, (e) Government of Norway and (f) Government of the Irish Republic following the decision of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea on MOX;
	(3)  which parties she plans to consult prior to the UK Government's submission to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea on 17 December.

Brian Wilson: The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea has prescribed the following provisional measure:
	Ireland and the UK shall co-operate and shall, for this purpose, enter into consultations forthwith in order to:
	(a) Exchange further information with regard to possible consequences for the Irish Sea arising out of the commissioning of the MOX plant;
	(b) Monitor risks or the effects of the operation of the MOX plant for the Irish Sea;
	(c) Devise, as appropriate, measures to prevent pollution of the marine environment which might result from the operation of the MOX plant.
	On 17 December, the Government submitted their initial report to ITLOS setting out the steps the UK has taken and which it proposes to take in order to comply with the provisional measure. A copy was sent to the Government of Ireland. I have placed a copy of that report in the Libraries of the House.
	The provisional measure relates to co-operation and exchange of information between the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom. There is no intention at this stage to consult others on the question of compliance with it.

Law of the Sea

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the documentation Her Majesty's Government plans to exchange with the Government of the Republic of Ireland on Sellafield as a result of the ruling of the United Nations International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea of 3 December; and if she will place in the Library copies of all documents made available to Ireland following the ITLOS adjudication.

Brian Wilson: The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has prescribed the following provisional measure:
	Ireland and the UK shall co-operate and shall, for this purpose, enter into consultations forthwith in order to:
	(a) Exchange further information with regard to possible consequences for the Irish Sea arising out of the commissioning of the MOX plant;l
	(b) Monitor risks or the effects of the operation of the MOX plant for the Irish Sea;
	(c) Devise, as appropriate, measures to prevent pollution of the marine environment which might result from the operation of the MOX plant
	The Government are currently exploring with the Government of Ireland arrangements for ensuring compliance with the provisional measure including the form co-operation might take. On 17 December, the Government submitted their initial report to ITLOS setting out the steps the UK has taken and which it proposes to take in order to comply with the provisional measure. A copy was sent to the Government of Ireland. I have placed a copy of that report in the Libraries of the House.

Business Grants (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies in the constituency of Buckingham have received funding from (a) Smart, (b) the Phoenix Fund, (c) the Enterprise Fund, (d) the Regional Venture Capital Scheme, (e) the Incubator Fund, (f) Carbon Trust, (g) the Regional Innovation Fund and (h) the Innovative Clusters Fund in the last 12 months; and what the total level of funding received from each scheme was.

Nigel Griffiths: (a) There is one current Smart project, which started in 1999 with a value of 308,000, and one new Smart award with a value of 45,000 was awarded in 2001.
	(b) None. The Phoenix development fund seeks to promote innovative approaches to business support in deprived areas. It does not provide funding to individual businesses.
	(c) The Enterprise Fund is the generic name for a number of programmes, including the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme and The UK High Technology Fund, designed to improve small businesses access to finance. Funding is not provided directly to businesses, but through intermediaries, as a result, companies in Buckingham benefiting directly from funding from the Enterprise Fund cannot be identified.
	(d) The Regional Venture Capital Fund, as it is not yet operational in the South East region.
	(e) None. This is a new initiative providing funding to establish incubator support. It does not provide funding to individual businesses.
	(f) None. This is a new initiative, which will soon provide support to businesses. It does not provide funding to individual businesses.
	(g) The constituency of Buckingham falls within the region covered by SEEDA which has been allocated RIF funding of 3.2 million in 200102.
	(h) The ICF operated during 200001 during which time SEEDA was allocated 1.66 million of funding.
	RIF and the now defunct ICF are not typical centrally administered DTI schemes. No funding goes directly from DTI to any companies. Both are funding streams provided to the Regional Development Agencies, which are non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).

Online Trading (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of small businesses in the constituency of Buckingham that are trading online.

Nigel Griffiths: The latest figures from the E-commerce International Benchmarking Studies2001, which monitors business use of information communication technologies in the UK, shows that 540,000 small and medium enterprises are trading online in the UK.
	The 'Study' does not break this figure down to constituency levels. However, it does confirm that we are making significant progress towards our aim of making the UK the best place in the world to trade online. For example, the target of having 1.5 million small businesses wired up to the digital marketplace by 2002 was achieved last year and continues to increase with 1.9 million now connected.

Pulmonary Disease Claims

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims have been registered, broken down by coalfield area; how many live claimants there are; and how many (a) widows and (b) estates are claiming.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 12 December 2001
	In collating statistics, the Department does not normally distinguish between estate claims for widows and others. In the time given, these figures are not available. IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, have registered claims in the following regions:
	
		
			  Region Number of live claims Number of estate claims 
		
		
			 Wales 18,319 16,858 
			 Scotland 7,582 5,478 
			 Nottinghamshire 16,623 4,444 
			 Yorkshire 31,447 13,117 
			 North East 11,991 12,760 
			 North West 5,371 3,803 
			 Midlands 10,500 5,394 
			 South 2,517 1,501 
			 Other 756 307 
			  
			 Total 105,106 63,662 
		
	
	Regional statistics and headlines statistics are available on the Department's website on www.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth.

Pulmonary Disease Claims

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners claiming chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been diagnosed by Health Call to be suffering with asthma, broken down by coalfield area; and how much money has been paid to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claimants, broken down by coalfield area, showing how many (a) final and (b) expedited settlements have been made; and how many interim payments have been made.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 12 December 2001
	The court judgment did not accept that asthma can be caused by working in mining, but acknowledged that it may be made worse temporarily by coal dust or fumes. Under the Handling Agreement, the sum of 2,500 will be paid for temporary exacerbation of asthma plus interest. This sum is not subject to apportionment and is paid following full medical assessment. Interims and expedited offers are not applicable in this category. To date nine claimants have been diagnosed as having temporary exacerbation of asthma only (with no other accompanying compensatable disability), broken down as follows:
	
		
			 Region Number of claimants Damages paid () 
		
		
			 Nottinghamshire 2 5,298 
			 Derbyshire 2 5,343 
			 South Wales 1 2,703 
			 Leicestershire 1 2,594 
			 Leeds 1 2,673 
			 West Yorkshire 1 2,763 
			 Tyne and Wear 1 2,627

Renewables Obligation

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the timetable is for the renewables obligation.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what she expects the start date for the renewables obligation to be.

Brian Wilson: The Government intend to lay the necessary order before Parliament in February with a view to its coming into effect on 1 April 2002.
	The Scottish Executive intends to lay the corresponding Scottish order before the Scottish Parliament with a view to its coming into effect to the same timetable.

Renewables Obligation

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason a distinction is not made in the draft Renewables Obligation between conventional mixed waste incineration and energy from waste residue after separation, recycling and materials recovery.

Brian Wilson: Such a distinction has not been made because the Government intend that the Renewables Obligation should encourage the development of more efficient or environmentally beneficial energy from waste technologies. These technologies include pyrolysis, gasification and anaerobic digestion.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is being done to ensure that manufacturers are (a) promptly and (b) accurately informed of what stage their applications for export licences have reached.

Nigel Griffiths: Any exporter who has submitted an application for an export licence can telephone the Export Control Organisation (ECO), who retrieve from their licensing database up to date information about the stage that application has reached.
	For cases where ECO is awaiting a response from another Government Department, the ECO has agreed with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development, arrangements for direct communication between exporters and specified contacts in those Departments.
	These arrangements apply if the ECO has not contacted the applicant for 15 or more working days following dispatch of their standard acknowledgement letter, or the receipt by them of any further information requested from the applicant in connection with the application. If the applicant telephones the licensing officer dealing with the application, the ECO will check their records to establish the current situation. If they are awaiting advice from one of their advisers and that advice request has been outstanding for 10 or more days they will give the applicant a contact name and telephone number in the section of the relevant Department in order that the applicant may obtain accurate information on the progress of their application.
	The ECO is planning to introduce a new IT system which will enable exporters to apply for Standard Individual Export Licences over the internet and will also provide an online facility for any exporter to find out what stage their application has reached.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to aid manufacturers that are attempting to obtain export licences; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: A number of IT and other continuous improvement initiatives are in train to assist exporters seeking to obtain export licences. These include a project to enable exporters to apply for a licence over the internet.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the difficulties faced by manufacturers with regard to their applications for export licences.

Nigel Griffiths: A joint Confederation of British Industry and Export Control Organisation working group works to address issues of concern, including difficulties faced by manufacturers with regard to their applications for export licences.
	Among the difficulties I have identified are delays arising from the assessments of use of exports for internal repression, external aggression, diversion to other end-users and preventing the development of WMDs, among others.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the effects of delays in the processing of applications for export licences.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government do recognise the effect that delays in the processing of an export licence application can have on individual companies, but the need to give applicants a quick decision cannot outweigh the Government's determination to manage the transfer of all goods and technology controlled for strategic reasons in a responsible manner by rigorously assessing all relevant export licence applications against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to speed up the procedure for the processing of applications for export licences.

Nigel Griffiths: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 29 November 2001, Official Report, column 1045W.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the criteria that need to be met by British manufacturers, with special reference to the obtaining of export licences, in order to compete on level terms with their (a) European and (b) American counterparts;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect on British manufacturers of difficulties in obtaining export licences in cases where they are in competition with their (a) EU and (b) American counterparts.

Nigel Griffiths: Many of the UK's controls on the export of military and dual use items are derived from international commitments that apply equally to competitors from the EU and the US as they do to British companies.
	We have no evidence to suggest that British manufacturers face any more difficulties in obtaining export licences than their EU or American competitors. The provisions of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports applies equally to all EU member states. In addition I would refer my hon. Friend to the Quadripartite Committee's analysis of the US system of export licensing published on 25 July 2000 (HC467), a copy of which is in the Libraries of the House.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of actions manufacturers can take to speed up the process by which their applications for export licences are granted; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: In order to assist the Export Control Organisation to process an application for an individual export licence as quickly as possible, exporters are advised to submit at the outset a completed application form together with all relevant supporting documentation at the earliest opportunity before a contract has been signed. Copies of the application form and guidance notes are available on the ECO website www.dti.gov.uk/ export.control.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the process by which export licences are granted to manufacturers.

Nigel Griffiths: This is set out in a memorandum submitted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Quadripartite Committee on the roles and responsibilities of the main Departments involved in the licensing process, published on 15 June 1999 (HC540), available from the Library of the House.

Export Licences

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the security threat posed by the granting of export licences to manufacturers selling their products to states that form part of the coalition against international terrorism.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government do not comment publicly on specific security threats. All relevant export licence applications are considered against the Consolidated EU and national arms export licensing requirements.

Enron

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the implications of the problems faced by Enron for the UK electricity market, with particular reference to (a) volatility, (b) liquidity and (c) pricing; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: It is important to recognise that Enron's current situation was not caused by any problems in the UK electricity market, but by the collapse of its US parent company. The wholesale electricity market coped well with the circumstances surrounding Enron's administration. The new electricity trading arrangements have provisions within them to deal with companies going into administration. It is difficult to identify the precise impact of any one event within the wholesale markets. There were however no significant increases in the level or volatility of prices over the past four weeks. Liquidity, particularly on the power exchanges, did however increase as market participants sought to offset any potential counterparty risk exposure.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the public service agreement target on UK performance in transposition of EU single market measures.

Nigel Griffiths: The UK had transposed 97.2 per cent. of EU single market measures due by November 2001. Work is in hand across Government on this and we expect to exceed the PSA target in 2002.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target on the number of successful high growth business start ups.

Nigel Griffiths: For the purposes of this target high growth is defined as achieving annual sales of 1 million or more, or employing 10 or more people, by the fourth year of trading. Latest data from the Inter Departmental Business Register maintained by the Office for National Statistics show the figure for 199798 was 12,600 and for 199899 was 12,800.
	Due to the long time lags inherent in this target, it is too soon to establish further progress.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target on productivity and profitability of small and medium sized enterprises assisted by Business Link partnerships.

Nigel Griffiths: The last Business Link Value for Money study in 1997 showed that after allowing for wider positive and negative effects, it is estimated that Business Links have generated at the national level more than 8,000 jobs, nearly 1 billion extra business turnover, more than 300 million extra profits, 145 million worth of extra net assets and nearly 400 million of extra exports in the last three years. The targets is to improve on this each year. Another VFM study is planned in 2002 to compare with the original study.
	Year on year progress is being monitored by SBS using business data provided by Business Links. The monitoring system was only recently established so no year on year data are available yet. First comparative data are expected in February 2002.
	Various quality measures are being introduced to monitor both customer satisfaction with Business Link Services and the Business Link operators themselves.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target on performance against a set of competitiveness indicators.

Patricia Hewitt: The DTI published its most recent assessment of progress in UK Competitiveness Indicators: Second Edition, a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House. The DTI is currently working on an update of the UK Competitiveness Indicators to be published next year.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target on the productivity gap relative to other industrialised countries.

Patricia Hewitt: The most recent ONS data shows that in 2000, UK productivity on both a per worker and per hour worked basis was lower than in France, Germany and the US. However, since 1997, the productivity gap on both a per worker and per hour basis has closed slightly with France and Germany. The gap with the US has remained broadly the same on a per hour basis, but has widened on the per worker measure. This is largely the result of the exceptional growth experienced by the US during the second half of the 1990s. The productivity data is available from the December 2001 ONS publication Economic Trends, available from the Libraries of the House.
	The Government's aim is to close the productivity gap through policies to encourage enterprise, innovation, investment, competition and the acquisition of skills. The policies have been designed to correct long-standing problems and so we should not expect to see results immediately. However, the slight narrowing of the productivity gap with our European competitors is encouraging.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target on the number of UK small and medium sized enterprises connected to the digital market place.

Douglas Alexander: The number of UK SMEs which are connected (i.e. have a website, or use external e-mail or Electronic Data Interchange) is now 1.9 million, up from 1.7 million in 2000, and 600,000 in 1999. This is well in excess of the Government target of having 1.5 million SMEs connected by 2002.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the Public Service Agreement target on electronic trading.

Douglas Alexander: The recently published International Benchmarking Study showed that 540,000 UK businesses are trading online, up by 90,000 since 2000.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the target on the Radio Communications Agency financial efficiency, between 199899 and 200203.

Douglas Alexander: Under the DTI Public Service Agreement the Radiocommunications Agency has a target to achieve a gain in financial efficiency of 20 per cent. over the five-year period 199899 to 200203.
	The Agency achieved annual gains of five per cent. in each of the year's 199899, 19992000 and 200001. It's latest Corporate Plan for 200102 to 200506 set targets of three per cent. for 200102 and two per cent. for 200203 which if met will ensure it delivers the overall target of efficiency gains of 20 per cent.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry under what circumstances operators are permitted under the NFFO transfer provisions to aggregate two or more existing NFFO contracts from different sites into one project.

Brian Wilson: Decisions on whether modified NFFO contracts remain qualifying arrangements for Fossil Fuel Levy purposes are for Ofgem. My understanding is that aggregation of contracts is not permitted under current arrangements, and that the Locational Flexibility Order will not change this position.
	The possibility of allowing aggregation was raised in the consultation on locational flexibility.
	We will consider the complex legal and policy implications of aggregation with a view to bringing forward possible further legislation in the new year to allow some aggregation.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many requests to amend NFFO contracts to enable implementation Ofgem has (a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused; and in cases where they have been refused, for what reason.

Brian Wilson: This is a matter for Ofgem.
	I have asked Mr. Callum McCarthy, the chief executive of Ofgem, to write to the hon. Member and to copy his reply to me, so that it may be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Ofgem, however, does not grant or refuse contract amendments as such amendments are a matter for the contracting parties. Ofgem has to assess whether any contract amendment would cause the project to cease to be a qualifying arrangement for receiving support from the fossil fuel levy. Each case is considered on its facts. If Ofgem decides that a project for which a contract amendment has been agreed has ceased to be a qualifying arrangement, that project will cease to receive support from the fossil fuel levy.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance she has provided to (a) the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency and (b) to Ofgem defining the criteria for the transfer of NFFO contracts.

Brian Wilson: The criteria for the transfer of NFFO contracts are set out in the Electricity from Non-Fossil Fuel Sources (Locational Flexibility) Order 2001.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the roles are of (a) her Department, (b) the Non Fossil Purchasing Agency and (c) Ofgem in approving requests for NFFO contract amendments.

Brian Wilson: The DTI has no role in approving requests for NFFO contract amendments.
	The Non Fossil Purchasing Authority (NFPA) is counter-party to contracts and must agree any amendment. If the NFPA has any doubts as to whether the amended contract would remain a qualifying arrangement for support from the fossil fuel levy, it consults Ofgem.
	Ofgem's role is to make payments from the fossil fuel levy in respect of qualifying arrangements and to set and collect the levy. Ofgem cannot make payment in respect of contracts which are no longer qualifying arrangements.
	Ofgem is also required under NFFO contracts to approve terminations of contracts for economic reasons. Other terminations are matter for the NFPA and the contract-holder.
	Separate but similar arrangements apply in Scotland where the SRO contracts are held by the supply successor companies and not by the NFPA.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many NFFO contracts which would otherwise have failed she expects to be brought to fruition through the new arrangements for site transfer; and what steps she is taking to maximise take-up.

Brian Wilson: The industry estimates that over a 100 projects across a wide range of technologies want to move.
	The Government have played their part by making the NFFO Locational Flexibility Order, and it is now up to developers to take advantage of the new opportunities provided by that Order.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the contracts under the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation which have been transferred from one site to another since March.

Brian Wilson: There have been none. The Government are introducing an Order to facilitate such transfers.

Telephone Lines

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if it is her objective that the minimum service standard for mainland telephone lines in the UK should be ISDN; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) sets the minimum service standard for mainland telephone lines in the UK as part of the Universal Service Obligation on BT, taking into account the appropriate European legislation. I am therefore asking the Director General of Telecommunications to write to the hon. Member to address this point.

Broadband Development

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much of the fund for broadband development has been allocated; and over what period it is expected to be fully allocated.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 17 December 2001
	I set out allocations for the UK broadband fund on 9 October 2001. The Regional Development Agencies and devolved Administrations are in discussion with my officials to develop action plans. The fund will be allocated over the period 200204.

Consignia

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with Consignia concerning its business prospects; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department has regular discussions with Consignia about a range of strategic issues facing the company. Last year's Postal Services Act gave the company greater commercial freedom so that it could improve its services and performance. We expect the management and the unions, which have been asking for more commercial freedom for years, to work together to use the freedom we have given them to deliver a better service to customers.

Sudan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice she gives to UK companies considering investment in Sudan.

Nigel Griffiths: The advice Trade Partners UK provides to UK companies considering trading or investing in Sudan is based on the nature of the inquiry and the specific area of business of the company concerned.

Pakistan

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons the European Union has increased the quota allocation for imports from Pakistan's clothing and textile industry; and what assessment she has made of the impact on Pakistan's economy of the increased allocation.

Nigel Griffiths: The EC increased Pakistan's quotas for textiles and clothing as part of Commissioner Lamy's initiative to improve market access for these products on a reciprocal basis, taking into account the impact on Pakistan's economy of the events of 11 September and their aftermath. Given the importance of textiles and clothing to the Pakistani economy, the impact is likely to be of significant benefit.

Post Office Card Accounts

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is her policy to cap the number of post office card accounts; and if she will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for E-commerce and Competitiveness on 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 119W.

HEALTH

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish the fifth report to Parliament on the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.

Hazel Blears: The fifth Report to Parliament on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) was published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	The PPRS: Fifth Report to Parliament covers the operation of the 1999 scheme, which was introduced in October 1999. It explains the Government's objectives for the scheme, how the scheme is managed and operated, including pricing policy, and gives detailed consolidated information on company annual financial returns. The report also sets out the contribution made to the economy by the United Kingdom based pharmaceutical industry.

Health Authority Boundaries

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce the outcome of the recent consultation on proposed boundaries for new health authorities in England.

John Hutton: I can announce today that, following 22 simultaneous consultation exercises across the whole of England, we are proposing to establish 28 new health authorities from 1 April 2002, when the existing health authorities will be disestablished. Subject to progress with the NHS Reform and Health Care Professions Bill these new health authorities are expected to become strategic health authorities by next October. The table indicates the new health authorities and their constituent existing health authorities.
	
		
			 New health authority HAs involved 
		
		
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire 
			  Norfolk 
			  Suffolk 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Bedfordshire 
			  Hertfordshire 
			 Essex North Essex 
			  South Essex 
			 North West London Brent and Harrow 
			  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounlsow 
			  Hillingdon 
			  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 
			 North Central London Barnet, Enfield and Haringey 
			  Camden and Islington 
			 North East London Barking and Havering 
			  East London and the City 
			  Redbridge and Waltham Forest 
			 South East London Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich 
			  Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 
			 South West London Croydon 
			  Kingston and Richmond 
			  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Gateshead and South Tyneside 
			  Newcastle and North Tyneside 
			  Northumberland 
			  Sunderland 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley County Durham and Darlington 
			  Tees 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Easting Riding and Hull 
			  North Yorkshire 
			  South Humber 
			 West Yorkshire Bradford 
			  Calderdale and Kirklees 
			  Leeds 
			  Wakefield 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire North Cumbria 
			  East Lancashire 
			  Morecambe Bay 
			  North West Lancashire 
			  South Lancashire 
			 Greater Manchester Bury and Rochdale 
			  Manchester 
			  Salford and Trafford 
			  Stockport 
			  West Pennine 
			  Wigan and Bolton 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside Liverpool 
			  North Cheshire 
			  Sefton 
			  South Cheshire 
			  St. Helen's and Knowsley 
			  Wirral 
			 Thames Valley Berkshire 
			  Buckinghamshire 
			  Oxfordshire 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight North and Mid-Hampshire 
			  Isle of Wight and Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 
			  Southampton and South West Hampshire 
			 Kent and Medway East Kent 
			  West Kent 
			 Surrey and Sussex East Surrey 
			  East Sussex, Brighton and Hove 
			  West Surrey 
			  West Sussex 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Avon 
			  Gloucestershire 
			  Wiltshire 
			 South West Peninsula Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 
			  North and East Devon 
			  South and West Devon 
			 Somerset and Dorset Dorset 
			  Somerset 
			 South Yorkshire Barnsley 
			  Doncaster 
			  Rotherham 
			  Sheffield 
			 Trent Lincolnshire 
			  North Derbyshire 
			  North Nottinghamshire 
			  Nottingham 
			  South Derbyshire 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Leicestershire 
			  Northamptonshire 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire North Staffordshire 
			  Shropshire 
			  South Staffordshire 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country Birmingham 
			  Dudley 
			  Sandwell 
			  Solihull 
			  Walsall 
			  Wolverhampton 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Coventry 
			  Herefordshire 
			  Warwickshire 
			  Worcestershire

Mental Health Act

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will bring forward the draft Bill for reform of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Jacqui Smith: We published the White Paper Reforming the Mental Health Act in December 2000. The White Paper made clear our intention to reform mental health legislation and bring it into line with the contemporary patterns of care and treatment including the changes and new investment set out in the NHS Plan, and to improve the provisions for high risk offenders, including those who are dangerous and severely personality disordered.
	This is a high priority for the Government. New legislation will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Hospital Patients (Children)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what educational provision exists for over 16-year-old children in hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has a duty to secure the provision of proper facilities for the education and training of 16 to 19-year-olds including those who may have missed out on education due to prolonged illness.
	The Connexions Service also provides integrated information, advice, guidance and personal development opportunities for all young people aged 13 to 19 in England, including giving more in depth support to those who are at greatest risk of not making a successful transition to adulthood.
	In addition, the DfES published in November this year, new statutory guidance Access to Education for children and young people with Medical needs which sets out minimum national standards for the education of children who are unable to attend school because of medical needs. The guidance advises that all agencies should try to enable a pupil to continue any course being taken on entry to hospital or while ill or injured at home. Local education authorities (LEAs) also have the power to provide suitable education otherwise than at school for young people over compulsory school age but under the age of 19. A local education authority (LEA) should normally arrange continuing education for young people over compulsory school age but under 18 where he or she is a year behind if they need to study for a further year to complete an examination course.
	From April 2002, local LSCs will allocate resources to LEAs for provision delivered in school sixth forms and LEA maintained 1619 institutions. I expect this to ensure a genuinely coherent approach to post-16 provision.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Correspondence

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to letters dated 2 August and 10 September from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on foot and mouth disease.

Elliot Morley: My noble Friend Lord Whitty replied to the letter from the hon. Member on 12 December. We have no record of his letter of 2 August.

Landfill Sites

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when she issued guidelines on the proximity of landfill sites to housing; and if they are retroactive;
	(2)  if she has powers to require the closure or containment of a landfill site which is closer to housing than the guidelines require; what discussions she has had with the European Commission about changes to those guidelines; and if the proposed EU Directive would be retroactive.

Michael Meacher: The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 requires a local planning authority to consult the Environment Agency before granting planning permission for development within 250 metres of land which is or has, at any time in the 30 years before the relevant planning application, been used for the deposit of refuse or waste. Guidance to the Agency in Waste Management Paper 27 on Landfill Gas published in 1991 contains guidelines on the proximity of new housing developments to landfill sites. These guidelines do not arise from European legislation and we have had no discussions with the European Commission about changes to the guidance.
	In addition, under section 42 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Environment Agency must take the steps needed to ensure that:
	1. the activities authorised by a waste management licence do not cause environmental pollution, harm to human health or serious detriment to local amenities; and
	2. the conditions of a licence are complied with.
	Following implementation of the Landfill Directive, the Environment Agency will be required to exercise its functions under the Directive in order to prevent, or reduce as far as possible, negative effects from the landfilling of waste on the environment and any resulting risk to human health during the whole life cycle of the site. The Directive also requires local planning authorities to take into consideration the distance from the site boundary when considering the location of a new landfill site. This requirement has applied to all new landfill sites from 16 July 2001 but is not applied retrospectively to existing landfill sites.
	The Environment Agency can suspend, vary or revoke a waste management licence or, in future, the permit issued under the terms of the Landfill Directive, where it appears the continuation of activities would cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health or where the conditions of the permit or licence are breached.

Livestock Markets

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what is the legal basis for the current closure of livestock markets; and when that legal basis has to be reviewed.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 4 December 2001
	The Foot-and-Mouth Disease Declaratory (Controlled Area) (England and Wales) (No.3) Order 2001, as amended, was made under section 17 of the Animal Health Act 1981 and declares the whole of England and Wales to be an infected area to which the provisions of Part IV of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Order 1983 as amended apply (a controlled area). Part IV imposes certain restrictions on the area, including the provisions of article 35 which prohibit the use of premises for a fair, market, show or other gathering of animals.
	When the chief veterinary officer is of the opinion that England and Wales is no longer infected with foot and mouth disease, consideration will be given to revoking the Declaratory Order. Once this order is revoked, the restrictions in article 35 on the holding of livestock markets will no longer apply. There are other powers available to Ministers under the Animal Health Act 1981 to regulate markets even in the absence of an FMD controlled area. However, the Government are minded to permit the resumption of cattle and some sheep markets in the new year, provided no further cases of FMD come to light. The Government are in close consultation with representatives of auctioneers and farmers abut the biosecurity rules to apply when markets resume.

White Goods

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's plans to improve energy efficiency standards in white goods.

Michael Meacher: The Department will continue to seek to improve the energy efficiency of domestic appliances, including white goods, through a combination of policy measures including product information (energy labels), minimum standards and the promotion of best practice.
	These policies will continue to be taken forward by the Market Transformation Programme (MTP), jointly sponsored by the Department and the Department of Trade and Industry, which aims to encourage products that do less harm to the environment, using less energy, water and other resources. The MTP will continue to have a strong focus on improving the delivered energy performance of domestic and non-domestic products, especially energy consuming appliances, equipment and components. This will include all major domestic energy consuming appliances (heating, cold, cooking and wet appliances, consumer electronics and lighting) as well as traded goods in the commercial sector.
	The Department will also continue to work closely with stakeholders and other member states to conclude a review of Council Directive 92/75/EEC on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances; to reach agreement on a Framework Directive for Minimum Energy Efficiency Requirements for End-Use Equipment; to develop voluntary measures where appropriate; and to support the work of the Energy Saving Trust in promoting more efficient products.

White Goods

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress the Government have made to date in improving the energy efficiency standards of white goods.

Michael Meacher: The Government have made some good progress in improving the energy efficiency of household appliances, including white goods, in recent years. This has been achieved through a combination of policy measures including product information (energy labels), minimum standards, industry agreements and the promotion of best practice. The Market Transformation Programme (MTP), jointly sponsored by my Department and the DTI, works closely with business and other stakeholders to produce the analysis supporting these measures and suggesting future strategies for action at UK and EU level.
	As an example of progress in the energy efficiency of white goods, the combination of energy labelling since 1995 and minimum standards from 1999 has helped to bring about the situation where new efficient fridge- freezers now use only half the electricity of existing older appliances.
	While in general the unit energy consumption of white goods has been decreasing for a number of years, overall energy savings have tended to be offset by increasing numbers of appliances in use as the number of households and demand for new services such as digital electronics, in the UK have increased.

Household Appliances

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research has been commissioned by the Government into the effects of not leaving electrical appliances on standby in terms of energy saved.

Michael Meacher: The Government's Market Transformation Programme, jointly sponsored by the Department and the DTI, has been working over the last three years to reach consensus on the potential to reduce the energy consumption of a range of products and appliances. The programme addresses 27 key product types so far, representing about 75 per cent. of UK electricity consumption. From that on-going research and consultative process, the current indications are that the energy used by domestic electrical appliances left in standby mode accounts for about 7 TWh, which is equivalent to about 6 per cent. of total electricity consumption in the domestic sector.

Farming Subsidies

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are waiting for subsidy payments from the Rural Payments Agency (a) in Norfolk and (b) in England.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 13 December 2001
	The information requested is not available.

Farming Subsidies

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what percentage of subsidy payments were paid within three weeks in (a) 2000 and (b) 2001;
	(2)  for what reasons there have been delays in subsidy payments to farmers by the Rural Payments Agency.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 13 December 2001
	Most IACS (integrated administration and control system) schemes are subject to regulatory payment windows determining the earliest and latest dates for payment to be made. Progress in processing claims for individual schemes varies from year to year and is influenced in particular by the workloads faced by the offices handling the claims and by the extent of any regulatory changes. This year claim processing on all schemes has been affected by the diversion of staff to foot and mouth disease duties and by industrial action. In addition livestock claims have had to be cross-checked with FMD slaughter records and bovine scheme claim processing has been delayed because new computer software had to be developed to reflect regulatory changes.
	The percentage of IACS subsidy claims sent for payment within the first three weeks of the opening of the payment window in 2000 and 2001 was as shown in the table.
	
		
			  2000 2001 
		
		
			 Arable Area Payments 83 51 
			 Slaughter Premium 18 0 
			 Beef Special Premium (advance) 74 0 
			 Beef Suckler Cow (advance) 0 0 
			 Sheep Annual Premium   
			 1st advance 97.2 86.2 
			 2nd advance 99.4 97.8

Uncultivated Land

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many responses she has had to the consultation on the proposed regulations concerning environmental impact assessments on uncultivated land; what research she has commissioned on how other EU member states implement these regulations; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Government gave a commitment in the Rural White Paper in November 2000 to consult on the implementation of the uncultivated land provisions of the EIA Directive. Two public consultation exercises have been carried out this year; the first in May on the options for implementation elicited 42 responses; the second in September, with detailed proposals, received 32 responses.
	It has not been necessary to formally commission a report on how other EU member states have implemented the regulations, as the Commission has shown a willingness to take any member state to the European Court of Justice should they fail to implement the Directive properly or correctly. Information is also available through agricultural attachs.
	The Environmental Impact Assessment (Uncultivated Land and Semi-natural Areas) (England) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 3966), come into force on 1 February 2002. They will require any project to bring uncultivated land and semi-natural areas into intensive agricultural use to be assessed for the likelihood of significant environmental effects. Only where there is a likelihood of significant effects will an environmental statement be required. In case where a project raises environmental concerns, officials will be as helpful as possible to farmers and will seek to agree a way forward which takes account of business needs as well as environmental factors.
	Guidelines are to be introduced which explain further the types of land that can be regarded as uncultivated, and an indicative list of the types of projects on that land which will be subject to the regulations. These guidelines will also explain how the scheme is to be administered. The Government are looking for a collaborative approach with farmers, land owners and environmentalists so that the regime can protect the most environmentally significant land without bearing disproportionately heavily on the farming industry.

Organic Farming

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial support there is for farmers who grow organic crops; and if she will make a statement on organic farming.

Elliot Morley: Support for organic farmers in England is provided in the main through the Organic Farming Scheme, which offers payments to farmer over a period of five years totalling from 50 to 450 per hectare according to land type. Supplementary payments totalling 600 per beneficiary are made towards the cost of training. The budget for this year's payments is 18 million, rising to 20 million in the next financial year.
	Direct payments to organic farmers in other regions of the UK are a matter for the devolved Administrations. Organic farmers are also entitled to other payments under the common agricultural policy in the same way as their conventional counterparts.
	In addition, the Department's Research and Development programme includes a large component dealing with research on organic farming. And there is a programme of free, on-farm advice to prospective organic farmers.
	We wish organic farming to succeed and to this end have already committed 140 million under the England Rural Development Programme which should triple the organic farming area by 2006. To build on this, we intend to product a strategy for the future direction of organic farming when we have the report of the Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, taking account of any recommendations made by the Commission for this sector. The strategy will assess potential growth both for UK production and for the organic market, and will need to take account of the large variation between different products.

Council Borrowing

Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what is the total borrowing figure for Solihull district council.

Alan Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
	The total debt (long and short-term) for Solihull, as at March 2001, was about 85 million.

Council Borrowing

Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what is the average annual contribution to council tax per council tax payer in England and Wales that is attributable to repayments and interest on borrowing.

Alan Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
	It is not possible to quantify separately the amounts attributable to English local authority debt repayments and interest on borrowing that are financed by council taxes.
	Welsh figures are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Council Borrowing

Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average total borrowing is for (a) all and (b) district councils in England and Wales.

Alan Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
	The average total debt (long and short-term) for English local authorities, as at March 2001, was about 132 million. This figure covers London boroughs, Metropolitan districts, Unitary authorities, Shire counties and Shire districts.
	The average total debt for Metropolitan districts is about 368 million and for Shire districts is about 14 million.
	It should be noted that authorities with high levels of debt are generally those which have undertaken capital investment and that long-term borrowing to finance capital expenditure is regulated by Government through the issue of credit approvals.

Water Recreation

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to publish the findings of the research contract about access to water for sport and recreation.

Alun Michael: We will be publishing the research report on Friday 21 December. The research provides information about availability of water space, the effectiveness of current arrangements in meeting the demand for different types of water-based sport and recreation and the scale and nature of potential demand. We shall be looking carefully at the findings to decide what action may be needed. A copy of the report will be placed in the House Libraries.

Rural White Paper

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew), 27 November 2001, Official Report, columns 85960W, on the Rural White Paper, what examples of good practice in rural policing the Government recommend should be followed.

John Denham: holding answer 3 December 2001
	I have been asked to reply.
	The operational deployment of officers is a matter for individual chief officers of police, but we do know that police forces are tackling rural crime in innovative ways. The additional 30 million per year for rural police forces is to assist them in this, to enable them to increase both the visibility of the police in rural communities and the public's access to them.
	In addition, we set out our proposals for increasing the police presence in the community, including through development of the extended police in the White Paper Policing a new century, published on 5 December. We believe these proposals will be of particular importance to rural communities.
	Examples of existing good practice include: mobile police stations, established within specific communities, such as a local village, shopping centre or housing estate; establishment of a permanent local 'blue light' police presencewhether by reopening small police stations on a part-time basis, or by sharing accommodation with other emergency services, or community centres, libraries, village halls or schools; the use of rural community beat officers to patrol clusters of villages or neighbourhoods to build strong relationships with the local community; dedicated parish or neighbourhood special constables; and intelligence-led patrols; focusing on local crime hot-spots, to provide a visible presence to deter criminals and troublemakers.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Specialist Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list specialist schools by constituency and specialism at the most recent date.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Details of the 685 specialist schools operational as of September 2001 is listed by parliamentary constituency and by specialism and is contained in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries.

Specialist Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools applied for specialist school status in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The number of schools that applied for specialist school status in the previous three years is as follows.
	(a) 1999 : 213
	(b) 2000 : 335
	(c) 2001 : 410.

Student Support

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support will be available to students in England and Wales in the academic year 200203.

Margaret Hodge: The level of support available to students in 200203 will be 2.4 per cent. higher than for 200102, in line with forecast price increases. I am today placing a Memorandum in the Library giving details of the new loan, grant and fee rates for 200203. These rates will be incorporated in the Education (Student Support) Regulations, which cover support for eligible students under the current arrangements, and in the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations and Education (Student Loans) Amendment Regulations, which cover the small number of students who are still eligible for support under the previous arrangements. These regulations will all be laid before Parliament in due course.

Student Support

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will publish information by family income bands showing the average contributions of parents to the student support and tuition fee costs of one student (a) before 1997 and (b) in 2000.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 13 December 2001
	The following table shows for 199697 and 200001 the assessed parental contributions for dependant students normally resident in England and Wales at illustrative levels of income. The maximum assessed contribution will depend on the level of support available to the student. This will depend on whether the student is living in the parental home or, if living away from home, if they live in London or elsewhere. In addition it will depend on whether they are entitled to any of the additional allowances. For illustrative purposes the table shows the assessed contributions for a single student eligible for the basic rate of support for students living away from home outside London.
	In 200102 there were a number of changes to the calculation of assessed contribution including a significant rise in the lower income threshold. The table therefore includes the assessed contributions for this year also.
	
		
			  199697  200001  200102  
			  Assessed  Assessed contribution  Assessed contribution  
			 Residual income contribution to grant(22) Total To fee To loan Total To fee To loan 
		
		
			 16,050(23) 45   
			 17,000 118   
			 17,805(24) 180 45 45 0
			 18,000 195 60 60 0
			 19,000 271 136 136 0
			 20,000(25) 348 213 213 0 45 45 0 
			 21,000 440 290 290 0 150 150 0 
			 22,000 549 367 367 0 255 255 0 
			 23,000 658 451 451 0 360 360 0 
			 24,000 766 560 560 0 466 466 0 
			 25,000 875 669 669 0 571 571 0 
			 26,000 984 777 777 0 676 676 0 
			 27,000 1,092 886 886 0 781 781 0 
			 28,000 1,201 995 995 0 887 887 0 
			 29,000 1,310 1,103 1,103 0 992 992 0 
			 30,000 1,418 1,212 1,050 162 1,097 1,075 22 
			 31,000 1,548 1,321 1,050 271 1,202 1,075 127 
			 32,000 1,681 1,429 1,050 379 1,308 1,075 233 
			 32,218(26) 1,710   
			 33,000  1,538 1,050 488 1,413 1,075 338 
			 34,000  1,660 1,050 610 1,518 1,075 443 
			 35,000  1,793 1,050 743 1,623 1,075 548 
			 36,000  1,927 1,050 877 1,729 1,075 654 
			 36,398(27)  1,980 1,050 930
			 37,000 1,834 1,075 759 
			 38,000 1,939 1,075 864 
			 38,856(28) 2,030 1,075 955 
		
	
	(21) Assessed contributions are based on parents' 'residual income'. This is based on gross income, for income tax purposes less a number of allowances.
	(22) The assessed contribution shown is the initial assessment. This assessment will be reduced if the parents have other dependent children.
	(23) In 199697 for residual incomes below 16,050 no contribution was assessed.
	(24) In 200001 for residual incomes below 17,705 no contribution was assessed.
	(25) In 200102 for residual incomes below 20,000 no contribution is assessed.
	(26) Above this point additional contributions would be required if a student was eligible for a higher rate of support, was eligible for additional allowances or the parent had more than one child in higher education.
	(27) Above this point additional contributions would be required if a student was eligible for a higher rate of support, was eligible for additional allowances or the parent had more than one child in higher education.
	(28) Above this point additional contributions would be required if a student was eligible for a higher rate of support, was eligible for additional allowances or the parent had more than one child in higher education.

Teachers' Earnings (Inner London)

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information her Department has on the movement in earnings for teachers in inner London in each of the last three years, broken down into (a) earnings for (i) female and (ii) male teachers and (b) teachers in (A) primary and (B) secondary schools; and how these movements compare with (1) London as a whole and (2) England as a whole.

Stephen Timms: Average salaries of full-time regular teachers in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in 199798, 199899 and 19992000 (the last year for which data are available) were as follows 2 9 , 3 0 :
	
		
			   199798 199899 19992000 
		
		
			 Inner London
			 Nursery and primary
			 Male 26,270 27,530 28,740 
			 Female 24,680 25,760 26,830 
			 Total 24,940 26,050 27,140 
			 Secondary
			 Male 27,320 28,550 29,730 
			 Female 26,170 27,330 28,460 
			 Total 26,670 27,860 29,010 
			 
			 London
			 Nursery and primary
			 Male 26,140 27,240 28,410 
			 Female 23,940 24,950 25,890 
			 Total 24,270 25,300 26,270 
			 Secondary
			 Male 26,590 27,740 28,890 
			 Female 25,160 26,150 27,210 
			 Total 25,800 26,850 27,950 
			 
			 England
			 Nursery and primary
			 Male 25,140 26,070 27,290 
			 Female 22,200 23,070 24,000 
			 Total 22,690 23,560 24,530 
			 Secondary
			 Male 25,200 26,160 27,170 
			 Female 23,200 24,090 24,960 
			 Total 24,140 25,060 25,990 
		
	
	2 9 Provisional data.
	3 0 All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Further Education Funding Council

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the total cost of administration of the former Further Education Funding Council in each of the last three financial years.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 19 November 2001
	Total FEFC cost of administration (taken from the FEFC published accounts) was 23.3 million in 199899 and 25.5 million in 19992000. Final FEFC accounts for 200001 are not yet available.
	Also, we estimate that in total TECs spent in the order of 240-250 million on administration of the activities that have now passed to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
	As well as the activities previously carried out by the FEFC and TECs, the LSC has also taken on additional activities such as greater involvement and intervention at local level to raise Basic Skills, and managing a 9 per cent. real terms increase in the overall programme budget allocated to post-16 education and training compared to plans for 200001. It takes on further responsibilities in 200203 such as the funding of school VI forms and local decisions about the allocation of funds on key youth and adult learning programmes.
	In the light of these responsibilities, and the different VAT regime to which the LSC is subject compared to TECs, the Secretary of State has agreed a revised LSC administration budget of 213 million in 200102 and 218 million in 200203.
	This is significantly lower than the 270-280 million estimated in total to have been spent by its predecessors, and delivers the commitment given to Parliament during the passage of the Learning and Skills Act that there would be administrative savings of at least 50 million compared to previous arrangements.

Learning and Skills Councils

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many (a) teachers and (b) head teachers there are on each learning and skills council;
	(2)  what proportion of those who sit on learning and skills councils are (a) teachers and (b) head teachers.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 13 November 2001
	All 47 local Learning and Skills Councils include representatives with relevant experience from the school sector. In total, there are three teachers (0.4 per cent.) and 17 head teachers (2.4 per cent.this figure includes one headteacher who has just retired from the profession but is still on the council) represented on local Learning and Skills Councils (LSC) and one head teacher represented on the LSC's Young Peoples Advisory Committee. In total 2.8 per cent. of members are teachers or head teachers. However 20 per cent. of all LSC members have an interest in and particular experience of school education either as school governors (14 per cent.), LEA officials (four per cent.) or members (one per cent.). Also eight local Executive Directors (1 per cent.) have either previous LEA or headteacher experience.
	Almost all LLSCs have other local authority representatives (often at council leader or chair of education level).
	There are also 45 FE heads and three FE lecturers who are local council members.
	In April 2002, the LSC assumes responsibility for school sixth form funding, and in recognition of this we will encourage the LSC to appoint further representatives from the school sector as and when council vacancies arise.
	A breakdown showing the number of teachers, head teachers, FE heads, FE lecturers, school governors and LEA/LA reps on each LSC is outlined in the table:
	
		
			  Local LSC  Teacher  Headteacher FE college heads FE college lecturers School Governors  LEA Reps Other LA Reps 
		
		
			 North West
			 Cheshire/Warrington   1  3 1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Cumbria   1  2 2 Officials 1 Elected 
			 Lancashire   1  2 1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Greater Manchester   1  3  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Greater Merseyside  1 1  2 1 Elected 1 Elected 
			 
			 West Midlands
			 Birmingham and Solihull   1  2 1 Official 1 Elected 
			 Black Country 1  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Coventry/Warwickshire  1 1  5  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Hereford/Worcester  1 1  1  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Shropshire   1  1  2 Elected 1 Official 
			 Staffordshire   1  3 1 Elected 1 Official 
			 
			 South West
			 Devon and Cornwall   1  2  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Dorset   2   1 Official 1 Elected 
			 Gloucestershire 1  2  2  1 Official 
			 Somerset   1  2  1 Elected 2 Officials 
			 West of England  1 11 Elected 
			 Wiltshire/Swindon   2  3 1 Elected 2 Elected 1 Official 
			 North East
			 County Durham  1   2  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Northumberland   1  3 1 Official  
			 Tees Valley   1 1 3  2 Elected 
			 Tyne and Wear 1  2 Elected 
			 Yorkshire and Humber
			 North Yorkshire  1 1  3 1 Official 2 Elected 
			 West Yorkshire   1  2 1 Official 1 Elected 
			 South Yorkshire   1  1 1 Official 2 Elected 1 Official 
			 Humberside   1  2 1 Official 1 Elected 1 Official 
			 
			 East Midlands
			 Derbyshire   1  4 1 Elected 1 Official 1 Elected 
			 Leicestershire   1  3 2 Officials 1 Elected 
			 Lincoln/Rutland   1  6 2 Officials 1 Elected 
			 Northamptonshire 1  1  2 1 Official 2 Elected 
			 Nottinghamshire 3 1 Elected 1 Elected 
			 
			 East of England
			 Bedfordshire  1 1 1 4  2 Elected 
			 Cambridgeshire  1 1  4 1 Official 2 Elected 1 Official 
			 Essex  1 1  1 1 Official 2 Elected 1 Official 
			 Hertfordshire  2 1   1 Official 1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Norfolk  1 1   1 Official 1 Elected 
			 Suffolk 1 1   4  4 Elected 
			 
			 London
			 Central London  1 1  3  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 East London   1  4 1 Elected 1 Elected 
			 North London  1 1  2  1 Elected 1 Official 
			 South London  1 1  1 1 Official 1 Elected 
			 West London 2  1 Official 
			 South East
			 Berkshire   1  1 1 Official 1 Official 
			 Hampshire/IOW   1  1 1 Official 1 Official 
			 Milton Keynes/Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire   1  2 2 Officials 3 Elected 
			 Kent/Medway   2  1 1 Official 2 Elected 1 Official 
			 Sussex   1 1 1 2 Officials 1 Elected 1 Official 
			 Surrey  1 1  1 1 Official 1 Elected 1 Official 
			 National  1

Learning and Skills Councils

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much VAT it is estimated that the Learning and Skills Council will pay in the current financial year.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. I have, therefore, asked John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and to place a copy of his reply in the Library.

Learning and Skills Councils

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the projected staff numbers were for the Learning and Skills Council in its first year of operations, and how many staff are in post.

Margaret Hodge: The set up figure for the Learning and Skills Council is 4,757 posts. At the end of November, it employed 4,575 people. This figure equates to 4,444 full time equivalents and gives a profile of 93.4 per cent. of posts filled.

Learning and Skills Councils

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total projected spend this financial year is on the LSC (a) administration and (b) staff budget and what percentage of its total budget will be spent on administration.

Margaret Hodge: The total projected spend by LSC on administrative costs in 200102 is 213 million.
	The total projected spend by LSC on staff costs in 200102, included in the above figure, is 138 million.
	The percentage of the LSC's total budget to be spent on administration is 3.9 per cent.

Learning and Skills Councils

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what date her Department received the LSC request for an increase in its administration budget.

Margaret Hodge: Officials from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have been in contact with officials from the Department for Education and Skills for many months, to discuss the LSC's running costs.
	The original administration budget for the LSC was set a couple of years ago, based on the then best estimates of the costs of the previous arrangements. The LSC became operational in April 2001 and inherited the majority of its costs from its predecessors (in particular Training and Enterprise Councils, and the Further Education Funding Council). It was always going to be the case that the actual running costs of the LSC would not be clear until it was up and running.
	We now have more up-to-date and accurate estimates of the administration costs of the previous arrangements, which are significantly higher than the earlier estimates. We announced a 25 million increase in the LSC's administration budget on 10 December, which delivers the commitment given to Parliament of at least 50 million savings compared to the previous arrangements.

Fair Trade

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what is the value of fairly traded (a) tea and (b) coffee used in her Department in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: It is not possible even at disproportionate cost to identify the value of fairly traded tea and coffee as separate records are not kept.

Threshold Pay

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers are receiving threshold pay; and how many are expected to be eligible in 200203.

Stephen Timms: About 195,000 teachers in England were assessed as meeting the threshold standards in the first (2000) round, which entitles them to be paid on the upper pay scale while they are employed as a classroom teacher in the maintained sector. Applications for the second round of the threshold (November 2001) have not yet been assessed.
	We estimate that about 250,000 teachers in England were eligible to apply for threshold assessment in 2000 and that about 20,000 teachers will become newly eligible to apply for threshold assessment in September 2002.

Sixth Forms

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the heads of secondary schools with sixth forms who sit on each Learning and Skills Council.

Margaret Hodge: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) will be taking over responsibility for funding school sixth forms from 200203. However, 14 heads of secondary schools with sixth forms currently sit on the LSC. The precise breakdown is as follows:
	
		
			 Local LSC Member School with sixth form 
		
		
			 North West   
			 Greater Merseyside David Atkin Headteacher: Rainhill High School 
			
			 West Midlands   
			 Hereford/Worcester Valerie Thomasson Headteacher: The Minster College 
			
			 South West   
			 West of England Andrea Arlidge Headteacher: St. Katherine's School 
			
			 North East   
			 County Durham Unica O'Reilly Headteacher: Wolsingham School and Community College 
			
			 Yorkshire and the Humber   
			 North Yorkshire Rachel Totton Headteacher: Whitby Community College 
			
			 East of England   
			 Bedfordshire John Mitchell Headteacher: The Cedars Upper School and Community College 
			 Cambridgeshire Christopher Walford Headteacher: John Mansfield School 
			 Essex Susan Anderson Headteacher: Hedingham School 
			 Hertfordshire Jane Creasey Headteacher: Sir John Lawes School 
			  Gail Tolley Headteacher: Stanborough School 
			 Norfolk Robert Young Headteacher: Hamond's High School 
			 Suffolk Neil Watts Headteacher: Northgate High School 
			
			 London   
			 South London Pauline Cox Headteacher: The Tiffin Girls School 
			
			 National   
			 Young People's Committee Ian Gartshore Headteacher: Downham Market School 
			 Total 14  
		
	
	Further sixth form expertise is brought by:
	Two former head teachers (from schools with sixth forms) on LLSCs (1 as an Executive Director);
	One deputy head teacher, one assistant head teacher and one teacher (from schools with sixth forms) on LLSCs.
	In the Secretary of State's Grant Letter to the LSC, she has encouraged the Council to widen representation from the schools sector.
	In addition, further knowledge and experience of schools is brought by:
	Three headteachers of schools without sixth forms, on local councils;
	36 representatives from local education authorities who bring knowledge and understanding of school sixth forms;
	101 members who are school governors.
	This is reflected in the following table:
	
		
			 Local LSC LEA reps with knowledge and understanding of school sixth forms School governors 
		
		
			 North West   
			 Cheshire/Warrington 1 Elected 3 
			 Cumbria 2 Officials 2 
			 Lancashire 1 Elected 2 
			 Greater Manchester  3 
			 Greater Merseyside 1 Elected 2 
			
			 West Midlands   
			 Birmingham and Solihull 1 Official 2 
			 Black Country  1 
			 Coventry/Warwickshire  5 
			 Hereford/Worcester  1 
			 Shropshire  1 
			 Staffordshire 1 Elected 3 
			
			 South West   
			 Devon and Cornwall  2 
			 Dorset 1 Official  
			 Gloucestershire  2 
			 Somerset  2 
			 West of England   
			 Wiltshire/Swindon 1 Elected 3 
			
			 North East   
			 County Durham  2 
			 Northumberland 1 Official 3 
			 Tees Valley  3 
			 Tyne and Wear  1 
			
			 Yorkshire and the Humber   
			 North Yorkshire 1 Official 3 
			 West Yorkshire 1 Official 2 
			 South Yorkshire 1 Official 1 
			 Humberside 1 Official 2 
			
			 East Midlands   
			 Derbyshire 1 Elected/1 Official 4 
			 Leicestershire 2 Officials 3 
			 Lincoln/Rutland 2 Officials 6 
			 Northamptonshire 1 Official 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 Elected 3 
			
			 East of England   
			 Bedfordshire  4 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 Official 4 
			 Essex 1 Official 1 
			 Hertfordshire 1 Official  
			 Norfolk 1 Official  
			 Suffolk  4 
			 London   
			 Central London(31)  3 
			 East London 1 Elected 4 
			 North London(31)  2 
			 South London 1 Official 1 
			 West London  2 
			
			 South East   
			 Berkshire 1 Official 1 
			 Hampshire/IOW 1 Official 1 
			 Milton Keynes/Oxfordshire/ Buckinghamshire 2 Officials 2 
			 Kent/Medway 1 Official 1 
			 Sussex 2 Officials 1 
			 Surrey(31) 1 Official 1 
		
	
	(31) Headteachers without sixth forms

Education SSA

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to reform the education standard spending assessment.

Stephen Timms: As part of the review of local government funding we have set up two working groups, with local government and schools partners, to develop proposals for a new LEA and school funding system. We will be in a position to make proposals for the new system by the summer of 2002 and intend to introduce the new system in 200304.

Teenagers (Health Education)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to ensure that health support and advice is made available through schools to young people in their teenage years.

Margaret Hodge: We are the first Government to introduce a non-statutory framework for Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) that provides the opportunities for pupils to receive the health support and advice they need to live confident, healthy and independent lives. Through PSHE, schools deliver a range of programmes that include, for example, drug, alcohol, tobacco and sex and relationship education. Schools receive Standards Fund money directly to support these programmes.

Pre-school Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Ofsted-inspected pre- school nurseries and playgroups have closed in each of the past three years.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested. The Department collects information on day nurseries and playgroups and pre-schools defined in terms of the full day or sessional care that they provide. It does not collect information on pre-schools separately from playgroups. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		Number of day nurseries and playgroups and pre-schools in England(32) (position at 31 March each year)
		
			   1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Playgroups and pre-schools 15,700 15,000 14,300 14,000 
			 Day nurseries 6,700 7,000 7,500 7,800 
		
	
	(32) Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	Local authorities provided the data. Ofsted did not assume responsibility for registration and inspection of children's day care facilities until September 2001.
	Figures for 2001 for England and Government Office regions were published in Statistical Bulletin 08/01 Children's Day Care Facilities as at 31 March 2001, which is available at www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/ and from the Library.

Small Businesses (Communications)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what structures exist to facilitate communication between her Department and small businesses.

John Healey: My Department is committed to working actively with everyone who shares our aim of building a competitive economy and inclusive society. Small businesses have an important contribution to make to achieve that aim and my Department has regular communications with them both directly, for example with the ICT Industry Club where half of the 150 members are small businesses, and through organisations such as the Learning and Skills Councils, the Small Business Service, Regional Development Agencies and many other national and local organisations. We also run an online forum for small businesses that offers direct access to my Department for all small businesses; the forum is at www.business.dfes.gov.uk.
	The new employer-led Sector Skills Councils licensed from 2002 will lead discussion with Government about skills and productivity in their industry or business sectors, including the needs of small business. The purpose of this discussion will be to develop effective policies and provision that better meets the needs of employers to drive up competitiveness and business effectiveness.

Faith Schools

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice she has received from Ofsted on the performance of faith schools.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Her Majesty's Chief Inspector has not provided my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State with any formal advice on the performance of faith schools. I have received from HMCI a draft paper that examines inspection and attainment data on Church of England and Roman Catholic schools for the period 19962000. Ofsted regards this paper as work in progress, not yet ready for publication.

Schools (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils have been excluded from schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The number of pupils permanently excluded from maintained primary and secondary schools and special schools within the constituency of Buckingham is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199798 14 
			 199899 8 
			 19992000 6

Tuition Fees

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many letters she has received in 2001 on tuition fees from residents of the Buckingham constituency.

Margaret Hodge: My Department does not routinely record correspondence data on a constituency basis. To provide this information would involve disproportionate costs.

Special Educational Needs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have been statemented as having special educational needs in the constituency of Buckingham.

Ivan Lewis: The number of children having been statemented as having special educational needs and reported to be attending primary, secondary and special schools within the constituency of Buckingham as at January 2001 was 315.

Class sizes

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what was the average size of classes in primary schools in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) South Tyneside at the most recent date for which figures are available.

John Healey: The available information is shown in the table:
	
		Average class size in maintained primary schools: all classes
		
			 January 2001  Average class size 
		
		
			 South Tyneside 25.7 
			 North East 25.9 
			 England 26.8 
			 Wales 24.8 
			 Scotland 24.4 
			 Northern Ireland 23.9

Standards Fund

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the amounts (a) allocated to and (b) spent from the Standards Fund in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: The amounts allocated and spent from the Standards Fund in the last three years are as follows.
	
		 
		
			  Amount allocated Amount spent 
		
		
			 199899 618,349,380 586,812,481 
			 19992000 1,256,632,332 1,167,833,535 
			 200001 2,524,925,580 2,215,126,768 
		
	
	The figures include recurrent and capital Standards Fund grants. The Standards Fund includes Government grant and local authority contributions, which have both been included in the calculations. The amounts for 200001 will not reflect the full level of expenditure as not all local authorities have yet submitted outturn expenditure details, once they have done so the allocated figure and the expenditure figure will move closer together. In addition, 144 million of Devolved Formula Capital funding for schools was allocated to schools late in the financial year, which meant most schools decided to carry expenditure over into 200203. We have reallocated the capital budget underspend in 200102 to accelerate spend on improving the condition of school buildings.

Universities

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list, for each university, (a) the number of undergraduate students admitted and (b) the number of units of student accommodation provided, and what is figure (b) as a percentage of figure (a).

Margaret Hodge: The available information on the number of undergraduate entrants is given in the table. Data on the units of student accommodation in each HE institution are not held centrally.
	
		Full-time and part-time undergraduate entrants to UK HEIs
		
			 As at 31 December 2000 Entrants 
		
		
			 The Open University 48,072 
			 Cranfield University 215 
			 Institute of Advanced Nursing Education 280 
			 Bishop Grosseteste College 257 
			 Bretton Hall College of HE 925 
			 Buckinghamshire College of HE 3,895 
			 Central School of Speech and Drama 151 
			 Chester College of HE 2,265 
			 Canterbury Christ Church College of HE 3,902 
			 The College of Ripon and York St. John 1,685 
			 College of St. Mark and St. John 666 
			 Dartington College of Arts 145 
			 Edge Hill College of HE 2,969 
			 Falmouth College of Arts 514 
			 Harper Adams Agricultural College 618 
			 Homerton College 1,127 
			 Kent Institute of Art and Design 808 
			 King Alfred's College, Winchester 1,381 
			 Liverpool Hope 2,236 
			 The London Institute 3,732 
			 University of Luton 3,639 
			 Nene College 4,288 
			 Newman College 599 
			 Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication 305 
			 Roehampton Institute of HE 2,280 
			 Rose Bruford College 251 
			 Royal Academy of Music 82 
			 Royal College of Music 116 
			 Royal Northern College of Music 125 
			 Southampton Institute 4,608 
			 St. Martin's College 2,368 
			 St. Mary's College 989 
			 Trinity and All Saints College 692 
			 Trinity College of Music 132 
			 Surrey Institute of Art and Design 1,193 
			 Worcester College of HE 2,047 
			 Anglia Polytechnic University 8,384 
			 Bath College of HE 1,427 
			 Bolton Institute of HE 2,180 
			 Bournemouth University 4,361 
			 The University of Brighton 6,553 
			 The University of Central England in Birmingham 7,004 
			 The University of Central Lancashire 9,450 
			 Cheltenham and Gloucester College of HE 3,251 
			 London Guildhall University 5,115 
			 Coventry University 6,274 
			 University of Derby 3,930 
			 The University of East London 3,578 
			 The University of Greenwich 5,769 
			 University of Hertfordshire 6,577 
			 The University of Huddersfield 5,864 
			 The University of Lincolnshire and Humberside 4,196 
			 Kingston University 5,151 
			 Leeds Metropolitan University 9,845 
			 Liverpool John Moores University 6,765 
			 The Manchester Metropolitan University 9,474 
			 Middlesex University 7,955 
			 De Montfort University 6,827 
			 The University of Northumbria at Newcastle 7,251 
			 The University of North London 5,024 
			 Nottingham Trent University 7,088 
			 Oxford Brookes University 4,437 
			 The University of Plymouth 7,633 
			 The University of Portsmouth 5,541 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 6,321 
			 South Bank University 6,060 
			 Staffordshire University 6,980 
			 The University of Sunderland 4,045 
			 The University of Teesside 6,008 
			 Thames Valley University 6,231 
			 The University of the West of England, Bristol 7,962 
			 Chichester Institute of HE 1,334 
			 The University of Westminster 7,317 
			 Wimbledon School of Art 193 
			 The University of Wolverhampton 7,789 
			 University of Wales College, Newport 3,603 
			 The North-East Wales Institute of Higher Education 2,227 
			 University of Wales Institute, Cardiff 3,278 
			 University of Glamorgan 6,561 
			 Swansea Institute of Higher Education 1,830 
			 Trinity College, Carmarthen 993 
			 University of Abertay, Dundee 1,283 
			 Edinburgh College of Art 398 
			 Glasgow School of Art 471 
			 Northern College of Education 536 
			 Queen Margaret College 1,353 
			 Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama 155 
			 The Robert Gordon University 3,061 
			 The University of Paisley 3,025 
			 Glasgow Caledonian University 5,239 
			 Napier University 3,995 
			 Aston University 1,667 
			 The University of Bath 2,134 
			 The University of Birmingham 6,317 
			 The University of Bradford 2,791 
			 The University of Bristol 4,671 
			 Brunel University 3,551 
			 The University of Cambridge 5,925 
			 City University 3,862 
			 The University of Durham 3,744 
			 The University of East Anglia 3,917 
			 The University of Essex 2,315 
			 The University of Exeter 3,365 
			 The University of Hull 6,260 
			 The University of Keele 2,456 
			 The University of Kent at Canterbury 4,025 
			 The University of Lancaster 3,712 
			 University of Leeds 7,908 
			 University of Leicester 2,680 
			 The University of Liverpool 5,703 
			 Birkbeck College 5,173 
			 Goldsmiths' College 2,383 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 2,164 
			 Institute of Education, University of London 17 
			 Kings College London 4,663 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 1,383 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 2,588 
			 Royal Holloway and Bedford New College 1,468 
			 The Royal Veterinary College 176 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School 917 
			 The School of Oriental and African Studies 818 
			 The School of Pharmacy, University of London 172 
			 University College London 3,928 
			 London University(Central Institute and activities) 88 
			 Loughborough University of Technology 3,191 
			 The Victoria University of Manchester 6,330 
			 The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 4,395 
			 The University of Nottingham 6,635 
			 The University of Oxford 5,460 
			 The University of Reading 3,976 
			 The University of Salford 6,944 
			 The University of Sheffield 6,635 
			 The University of Southampton 6,239 
			 The University of surrey 2,796 
			 The University of Sussex 4,202 
			 The University of Warwick 6,558 
			 The University of York 2,643 
			 The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology 1,496 
			 The University of Edinburgh 5,102 
			 The University of Glasgow 7,601 
			 The University of Strathclyde 3,800 
			 The University of Aberdeen 3,056 
			 Heriot-Watt University 1,666 
			 The University of Dundee 3,246 
			 The University of St. Andrews 1,595 
			 The University of Stirling 2,067 
			 Scottish Agricultural College 435 
			 The University of Wales, Lampeter 894 
			 The University of Wales, Aberystwyth 2,767 
			 University Wales, Bangor 2,610 
			 University of Wales, Cardiff 6,446 
			 University of Wales, Swansea 3,737 
			 University of Wales College of Medicine 846 
			 Welsh College of Music and Drama 231 
			 The Queen's University of Belfast 7,251 
			 University of Ulster 6,500 
			 Institute of Cancer Research 114 
			 Writtle College 586 
			 Norwich School of Art and Design 276 
			 Northern School of Contemporary Dance 50 
			 Cumbria College of Art and Design 341 
			 Stranmillis University College 358 
			 St. Mary's University College 295 
			  
			 Total 597,020

Education Funding Statistics

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information she has collated on the proportion of total expenditure on (a) education, (b) higher education and (c) higher education student support met by (i) private funding, (ii) public funding in (A) each EU country, (B) the USA, (C) Australia and (D) New Zealand.

Estelle Morris: holding answer 13 December 2001
	My Department does not collate any data regarding spending on education in other countries. Information regarding the proportion of total expenditure on education and higher education met by both private and public funding in other countries is available in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publication, Education at a Glance, 2001 Edition (Chapter B3Charts B3.1, B3.2, Table B3.1). A copy of this publication is to be found in the House of Commons Library (POLIS Accession Number: 944669349). No figures are published in the UK on public and private shares of expenditure on student support in these countries.

Education Funding (Worcestershire)

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the sources of funding for schools and local education authorities paid by her Department to schools and local education authorities; which of these sources of funding are available in Worcestershire; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Sources of funding provided by the Department in 200102 are as listed:
	Standards Fund
	School Standards Grant
	Teachers' Pay Reform Grants (Threshold, Threshold Supply, Deputies' Assimilation, Leadership Group, Performance Pay Progression)
	Education Budget Support Grant
	Nursery Education Grant
	Childcare Grant
	Education Action Zone Grant
	Transitional Grant (former GM Schools)
	Education Maintenance Allowance
	Schools Capital Grants (Basic NeedACG, VA Schools Grant, Schools Access Initiative, New Deal for Schools).
	All of the sources of funding are available in Worcestershire, with the exception of support for Education Action Zones. There are no Education Action Zones in Worcestershire.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason the individual learning account system was not accessible by learning providers between 4.15 pm and 6.30 pm on Friday 23 November.

John Healey: holding answer 17 December 2001
	On Friday 23 November the ILA website experienced heavy traffic, with 22,481 successful hits. As a result access may have been difficult at any time. From 5.00 pm on 23 November work was carried out to enable the website to be closed at 6.30 pm. During this process access to the system was restricted.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  to ask the Secretary of State for Education, which learning providers attended the individual learning account focus group meeting at the Department for Education and Skills on 25 July; and what recommendations were made;
	(2)  what action was taken by her Department following the advice received by those attending her Department's individual learning account focus group on 25 July on the exploitation of the system.

John Healey: As part of the workshop on 25 July the specific details of the new learning provider agreement were discussed and providers were asked to comment on what additional guidance they felt would help them comply with the principles of the agreement. We also advised providers of our intent to introduce a learner leaflet to help individuals make a more informed choice about the learning they undertook.
	An initial draft of new learning provider guidance incorporating, where possible, suggestions made by providers at these workshops was produced on 5 October. The final draft of this document was put on hold due to the early closure of the ILA programme. The learner leaflet was completed and from the end of August was issued to all individuals who opened an ILA.
	The individuals who attended the workshop on 25 July were: Libby WoodhatchSeafish Training Association; Tim AddisonFuture Open College; Neil EadesBest Training; Tessa MitchellManor Community College; Richard MarshallImperial College; and Fiona NouriRoyal College of Art.

Individual Learning Accounts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether her Department has written contracts with training organisations providing services to ILA holders.

John Healey: The Department does not have written contracts with training organisations providing training to ILA account holders.

Individual Learning Accounts

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many arrests have been made in connection with fraud of the Government's individual learning accounts scheme.

John Healey: 39 arrests have been made and one person has been charged in relation to allegations of fraud in connection with the operation of the individual learning account programme.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 814W, on individual learning accounts, if she will enable the individual learning account holders to use their accounts as soon as the system has been proofed against fraud and theft.

John Healey: Account holders will be able to pursue any legitimate learning booked before the programme closed on 23 November. However, we have now withdrawn the current ILA programme, and there are therefore no plans to reinstate access to the individual learning account system for account holders.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 814W, on individual learning accounts, if she will make it her policy to give such individual learning account holders priority in the new system after it is established.

John Healey: We are developing plans for supporting adult learners which build on the successful elements of the ILA programme. It is too early to say who or what learning will be eligible for support under those plans.

Delegated Budgets

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what percentage of Leicestershire LEA's education budget was delegated to schools in the financial years (a) 19992000 and (b) 200001; and what percentage of the LEA education budget Leicestershire schools will receive in 200102;
	(2)  what average percentage of the LEA education budget was delegated to schools in England and Wales in the financial years (a) 19992000 and (b) 200001; and what the projected figure is for 200102;
	(3)  what progress has been made in delegating LEAs' education budgets to schools in England and Wales for the year 200102.

Stephen Timms: The Government have set authorities in England a target in delegating percentages of the local schools budget (LSB) to schools. In 200001 and 200102, the Government's target for delegating the LSB to schools was 80 per cent. and 85 per cent. respectively; the average delegation actually achieved by LEAs was 84.2 per cent. and 86.5 per cent. Although there was no national target set in 19992000, the average delegation rate actually achieved by LEAs in England was 82.4 per cent. Next year, 200203, the national delegation target is 87 per cent. We expect authorities to reach this target, prior to the proposed introduction of the new local authority funding system in 200304 when we will be moving towards the publication of separate schools and LEA budgets.
	From 19992000 to 200102, Leicestershire LEA achieved delegation percentages of 83.4 per cent., 84.2 per cent. and 85 per cent. respectively.
	School funding in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.

Education Action Zones

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings she has had with Ofsted to discuss the performance of schools within education action zones.

Stephen Timms: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State holds meetings with HM Chief Inspector every four to six weeks. The performance of schools in education action zones is just one of a wide range of issues that they discuss during the course of these meetings.

Education Action Zones

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings she has had with Ofsted to discuss her decision to abolish education action zones.

Stephen Timms: All education action zones will complete their agreed full statutory term. Under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, EAZs had a maximum statutory term of five years.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State holds meetings with HM Chief Inspector every four to six weeks to discuss a wide range of matters including education action zones.

Education Action Zones

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent meetings she has had with the National Union of Teachers to discuss the performance of schools within education action zones.

Stephen Timms: My right hon. Friend and I have had no recent meetings with the National Union of Teachers to discuss the performance of schools within education action zones.

Keystage 2 (Leaked Results)

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the joint inquiry by her Department and the Office for National Statistics into the leak of keystage 2 results during the week of 11 September will be (a) completed and (b) made public.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 27 November 2001, Official Report, column 782W.

Teachers' Pay

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what directions she is giving (a) local education authorities and (b) schools on how to finance the higher pay scale for teachers due in 2002.

Stephen Timms: In England we are consulting on a new special grant to help schools fund the cost of performance points, including points on the upper pay scale. The grantworth 250 million over the next two financial yearswill be allocated to local education authorities using a formula that takes account of the number of teachers on the upper pay scale. Local authorities will be expected to allocate the money to schools in the same way. Schools will be free to decide how much to invest in performance points, taking account of all the resources available to them including special grant.
	Funding for teachers' pay in Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to announce the quinquennial review of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

Ivan Lewis: In accordance with the Government's policy of conducting quinquennial reviews of all non-departmental public bodies, my Department is today beginning a review of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). Following Cabinet Office guidelines, the terms of reference for the first stage of the review will be:
	to review the role and functions of QCA as outlined in its remit letter, the efficiency and effectiveness with which they have been carried out and how these functions contribute to the delivery of wider DfES and Government objectives; to consider the likely need for these functions in the future and whether there is a need for any reduction or expansion in the functions undertaken by QCA; to consider what QCA's customers and other interested parties think about its role, performance and responsiveness to their needs; to consider whether continued NDPB status is the best way of delivering these functions or whether some, or all, of the functions could be delivered more efficiently and effectively within an alternative organisational framework, including by another private, public or voluntary body or otherwise within Government; and
	to consider the powers, remit, objectives and status of QCA and the membership and role of the Board.
	We should welcome comments on those matters to be covered by the review from all those with an interest in the work of QCA. Comments, which may be made public unless respondents specifically request otherwise, should be sent by 28 February 2002 to:
	Ellie Reynolds
	Department for Education and Skills
	E3c
	Moorfoot
	Sheffield S1 4PQ
	or. by e-mail to: ellie.reynolds@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
	We have asked that this first stage of the review should be completed by spring 2002.